A Maid Named Amy
by DragonBabe12
Summary: Amy Rose believes her life can't get any worse, seeing as she's living with four evil step sisters. But that all changes when her crush, Sonic, comes back to town after abandoning her for two years and wants to see her again. How long can she hide?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I'd just like readers to know that this story was NOT copied from the author MidnightStarsXx. She is a very good friend of mine, both on FanFiction and on deviantART, and in fact I helped her write a bit of her story. The character Lindsey is mine and Midnight uses her in her story as well. The plot of Cinderella will always be the same in some way, shape, or form. So before you begin to accuse me of stealing MidnightStarXx's or anyone elses story, think first please.**

**Also, if you do not believe me, then ask MidnightStarXx herself.**

**Thank you.**

**Now, please enjoy my adaption of a Sonic/Cinderella crossover. R&R!**

**.-+*+-. .-+*+-. .-+*+-.**

December 5th

Sometimes it feels like I'm living a fairy tale; Cinderella to be exact. No, my dad isn't dead and I don't have two ugly step sisters. Actually, I have three step sisters and five blood sisters. I know, right? That's a lot of kids. What, did my mom try to get knocked up as much as possible? No, she didn't, nevertheless you'd think that, wouldn't you? But back to my point: none of us are ugly. I and my blood sisters (all except for Alana) all have farmer beauty, although some don't think so. My step mother and her daughters (and Alana) all have plastic surgery beauty.

So that cancels out that part of Cinderella. Next, my mother isn't dead either. She's still alive and well, I mean, as well as a pregnant female can get. And I don't have an evil step – mother. She's only mildly evil. One of my sister's takes the cake for the evil step – mom role. Does my family hate me? No. Does my step – family hate me? Only one member of it does. Also, Cinderella was a maid, right? Guess who's also a maid? That's right, I am. I have a job at Joe's Cleaning Service. It's not like I wanted it, and neither did my sister Avery, but its money we need.

And finally, am I in love with a prince? Well . . . he's not exactly "royalty" but he's extremely close to it. He's kind of the most popular dude in school . . . okay, so the city has a parade for him every year. Why wouldn't they, he saves everyone from Dr. Eggman; especially me. However, unlike Cinderella, I know my prince very well. He's my best friend, has been since I was twelve. But like Cinderella, he doesn't pay any attention to me the way I want him too, like he barely notices me.

So yeah, that's my life.

. - + * + - .

I was going to die. As soon as I walked through those solid oak doors, I was going to die. I would get glomped by Aden and Alyssa. I would be ignored by my dad. I would be put to work by Tascha. And as for Alana and my step brothers and sisters? It was different every time I visited.

I took a deep breath and held it in as my hand reached toward the doorbell. I pressed the button and a loud, elegant chime went off inside. The door was opened by a black fox with white bangs that fell over her sharp blue eyes. She wore an open, bright blue vest, white gloves, grey jeans, and white sandals. Her face was glowing brightly with happiness, but dulled boringly as she saw me.

"Oh, it's just you," she muttered and walked back into the house.

"Nice to see you too, Zelena," I followed her into the front hallway.

To say that the Fox's were rich was the understatement of the century! The entire floor was tiled with bright gold. The walls were painted aqua with a golden trim. On both sides of the oak door were white podiums with tiger lilies of all sorts of colors in gold vases upon them. I wondered around the hallway for a while with my pink trunk until I heard two small voices coming from the other room.

"Is she here? Is she here?"

"Yes, she's in the hallway,"

"SISSY!"

"SISSY!"

Two little hedgehoglettes raced around the corner and straight into me. They both jumped up and down and hugged at my legs.

"SISSY! SISSY! We missed you!" they squealed.

Aden was the oldest of the twins. They're both five years old, but she came out two and a half minutes earlier than Alyssa did. Both of them had a very light, baby pink fur, light peach skin like mine, and light brown eyes. They were the same height, same weight . . . the only way you could tell them apart was their personalities and that Aden wore a plum purple tank top with a dark blue vest over it, blue jean Capri, white gloves, and purple sneakers and she had short, straight hair and a plum purple headband. Alyssa wore a dark green tank top with a light green vest over it, blue jean Capri, white gloves, and light blue sneakers and she had medium long, curly hair and a dark green headband. Aden's name meant fiery one. Alyssa's name meant sane one. They were total opposites, but they balanced each other out. Sometimes Aden would lose her temper or get too out of control and Alyssa would swoop in and calm her down, made her see reason. And then there were times Alyssa was too calm, too sane about everything and Aden would liven her up a bit.

"I missed you guys too," I hugged them close, "Are you excited to see Momma?"

That made them squeal louder, "Momma! Momma!"

"Amy, darling, it's so good to see you!" Tascha, my step mother, came to me and gave me one of those light air hugs where you barely even touché them and air kissed my cheeks.

"You too, Tascha," I lied. She pursued her big red lips into a smile and led me through the house, "Now dear, I'm sorry to drop this on you, but Jared and I have to leave in a few hours and there is just too much work to be done on the house and we just can't do it alone – " this, of course, is a lie. Dad and Tascha never did anything that involves work other than fashion designs and limo driving, " – so as soon as you're settled I need you to do the dishes, sweep and mop all the tile floors, water the plants, clean Harry's room, go grocery shopping . . . "

This was what she did every single time I came to visit. Apparently, since I'm a maid at Joe's Cleaning Service, she takes advantage of it and gives me a huge list of chores every day. The question, if you ever ask her, "How come you don't hire a maid?" would receive the answer, "Hone, why get a maid when I have one right here that I don't even have to pay?" from her.

Tascha looked a lot like her daughters. She had silky black and white fur, short black hair and white bangs that covered one of her two aqua eyes she had. She wore a strapless red shirt with long sleeves, the same grey jeans as Zelena, white gloves, and red pumps.

After the long list of things – to – do, she left me in the doorway of my temporary bedroom. The girls hung around me for a while, talking to me, helping me unpack, jumping on my bed, before getting bored and going outside to play in the snow. I sat on the multicolored striped comforter and punched a number into m cell phone. I pressed it to my ear and listened to it ring before someone answered.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hi, Kai, it's Amy," I said in a small voice.

"Hey, did you get to your dad's alright?"

"Yes,"

"So how's it going?"

"Well, Tascha gave me another huge list of chores, and the twins were all over me,"

"How about the steps?"

"Zelena seems to be disappointed that I'm here. No sign of Daphnee, Irine, or Harry yet,"

"Doesn't seem so bad,"

"Not yet," I sighed.

"So what are you afraid of?" she asked.

"Alana," I whispered.

Alanna is the oldest of the Rose kids. She used to be my favorite sister because she spent a lot of time with me, gave me advice that actually worked, and helped me through everything. Sounds like a typical big sister, right? Well, she acted a little more like a mother, because mine was stuck in bed with dad a lot and was never around. She was. She was always there.

Not anymore.

"Just avoid her as much as possible," Kai suggested.

"That's kind of hard when you share a room with her." I told her, glancing at the half of the room that was covered with posters of boy bands, pictures of herself, her friends, boyfriends and ex – boyfriends, Sonic . . .

"Oh yeah, that's pretty tough," she muttered, "Well, at least we can enjoy her Masquerade Ball."

"I don't think 'enjoy' would be the right word. Maybe destroy or tear down or even obliterate would be the right choice,"

"Oh ha ha, very funny,"

"Do I have to go, Kai?"

"Yes, because I'm almost done making your dress. You, Avery, Magenna, Danielle, Shelby, Lani, Lindsey, and I are all going. And who knows, maybe you'll meet a cute guy, fall in love, get married in a couple years, and live happily ever after!"

I rolled my eyes, "Guys don't even know I exist,"

"How are they supposed to know you exist if you keep hiding under sunglasses, leather jackets, and hats? Or if you don't go out enough?" she demanded.

"I also have Matt," I reminded.

"Matt's a bastard, you need to get rid of him,"

"Kai, he's really nice and funny and – "

"And he always had his hands in the wrong places, and he drinks and smokes and he's annoying and I see him flirting with billions of – "

"That's enough, Kai," I interrupted.

"Okay, fine, but I still hate him," she huffed. There was some muffled talking on the other line and I heard her sigh angrily, "I have to go,"

"Alright,"

"You ARE going to the ball, though,"

"Fine, fine, bye,"

"Bye," I was about to hang up until I heard more talking.

"Mom, I thought I told you to be careful,"

"I was careful, sweetheart, but it's just too hard,"

" . . . how is opening a can of peas hard?"

"It's hard because I can't find a can opener."

"So decide to torture the can until your fingers started bleeding?"

"The lid was being stubborn. It didn't want to come off. Oh, here's the can opener!"

"I am never letting you cook again,"

"Um, Kai?" I asked.

"Yes,"

"You didn't hang up," I tried not to giggle.

" . . . oh . . . um . . . bye!" and she hung up.


	2. Chapter 2

December 7th

I can't believe Alana is having a Masquerade Ball. That's how big their house is. Well, actually, it's going to be outside. Really? Outside? In the freezing cold? What are these people thinking? But anyway, they have a patio the size of a freaking ballroom! Which, by the way, I have to clean. I also have to decorate is, make the food, help Alana, Daphnee, Irine, and Zelena dress, and get myself ready if I can. I doubt I'll be about to though.

Okay, so I'm a little excited to be going to it. I like to dance a lot and I heard there's going to be a karaoke machine too so I might be singing . . . if my nerves don't collapse on me. There's also going to be a lot of cute boys there who won't even know my face or name. And I'll be with my friends. I'll dance all night and no one will ask, "Aren't you Alana's sister?" or, "Can you set me up with her?" or even, "You're not anywhere close to being as pretty as her,"

. - + * + - .

Alana walked out of the bathroom, wearing a mint green cotton robe and a white towel on her head. I sat on my side of the room in a bean bag chair, watching the news on the large, plasma screen TV. Alana ignored me and the TV as she walked into her closet. The newsman blabbed on and on about run aways, the people in Iran doing some nuclear bombing stuff, and Obama and his stimulus package.

"Before we go, we have one more thing to tell our viewers. Our blue hero is back in town! After two long years of battling the newest villain in the world, Zack Dagger, in Europe, Sonic the Hedgehog has returned to the U.S. A few of our people had an interview with him."

Then Sonic and the interviewer came onto the scene.

"So Sonic, what was it like battling Zack Dagger?" the interviewer asked.

"Well it was definitely a bigger challenge than fighting Eggman. He actually gave me a few scars," he showed her the marks on his arm and leg.

"Is Zack still alive?"

"Yeah, he is. He got on a boat going to Africa as soon as I reached the ocean."

"Do you have any idea where he is?"

"Not at the moment. He might be in Asia, or he might have followed me here. But I roughed him up quite a bit so he probably won't be doing anything for a while,"

"Well, we have time for one final question. What are you going to do now that you're back in America?"

"I'm probably gonna go back to Station Square. You know, go back to school, hang out with my friends,"

"How sweet! Well thank you for your time, Sonic,"

"Right back at you, Charlotte," he winked at her. I turned the TV and whispered in despair yet amazement, "Sonic's back,"

"And he has a date with me," Alana came out of her closet wearing extremely short white shorts and dark blue tube top. My head whipped towards her, my mouth slightly open, my heart breaking.

"Already?" I croaked. She turned from her mirror and smirked at me, "Yep,"

The sad thing about the present relationship with my sister was that she knew absolutely everything about me and used it against me.

"Oh, btw I need you to cater my ball," she called while applying mascara.

"I thought I was already catering it,"

"Yes, you are, but I'm a little short on waitresses so I'll need you and your stupid friends to help out."

I was a better dancer than she was, and she knew it. So to avoid being embarrassed and prevent me from "upstaging" her, she was forcing me not to go. I could have said, "Screw you, I'm going any way, but you'll see the result in a minute.

"I'm going, but not in a skinny maid's outfit serving tiny sandwiches and spiked drinks," I stated. She glared menacingly at me and hissed, "Fine. You can go. If you do ALL the chores on Tascha's list to perfection, plus decorate the party area, plus make all the food, plus help us get ready, get yourself ready, and cater my party for three hours,"

"But the party ends at eleven. That would give me only thirty minutes – "

"Exactly," she retorted.

The doorbell rang and she skipped put of the room. I tip – toed to the bedroom door and peered out into the hall. Alana opened the front door and jumped into someone's arms. She kissed him lovingly while his hands wandered.

"Oh, Sonic! I missed you!" she cried.

"Missed you too, babe," he said, his voice deeper than I remembered. The twins came running around the corner and hugged his legs. He chuckled and bent down, hugging them back.

"Hey, girls!" he smiled dazzling down at them.

"Ready to go?" the queen of evil asked.

"Yep," he answered, then hesitated, "Hey, is Amy here?" I stiffened at the sound of my name.

Alana grimaced before lying, "No,"

"Yes she it!" Aden piped up, "She's in Alana's room!"

No, Aden! Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no! I'm not ready to see him yet!

"Do you mind if I go see her?" Sonic asked. He didn't wait for an answer. He began walking towards me. I gasped and ran to the bay window. I slid it open and looked down at the drop.

"Not too bad," I muttered. I grabbed my leather jacket and my skate board from the side of the bed, scurried onto the edge of the window pane, and jumped! The dark, snow covered ground came rushing at me and I landed like a cat. I pressed myself to the side of the house and listened carefully.

"Amy? Amy, you here?" Sonic called, "Look, I know I left unexpectedly, and I know I haven't kept in contact . . . "

I closed my eyes and breathed slowly, flashes of that dreadful memory seeping into my head.

_*FLASH BACK*_

I walked downtown slowly. My eyes searched warily, my Sonic monitor in my head quiet.

"Sonic?" I called, "Sonic, where are you?"

I spotted most of the gang sitting at a table outside a sandwich shop. I skipped up to them, "Hey, do you guys know where Sonic is?" and then I noticed their faces. Each held worry, curiosity, even a little fear.

"W – What's going on?" I stuttered.

"No one knows where he is, Amy," Cream whispered, "He's been gone for days,"

"That's impossible." I rejected, "Sonic does run away, but he doesn't just plain disappear off the face of the Earth,"

"Go ask Tails," Knuckles said, quiet for the first time, "He's the only one that knew Sonic was leaving. I nodded and ran to the nearest train station. An hour later I hopped down the rickety wooden stairs and raced to Tails' work shop. He held a finger up to me as I came in, talking softly into a cell phone.

"Yes . . . okay . . . no, I don't think so . . . okay . . . I will . . . alright . . . bye Sonic,"

"That was Sonic?" I cried, almost hyperventilating now, "Why didn't you let me speak to him?"

"Something's come up. He had to hang up," Tails answered.

"So where is he?"

"Somewhere in Europe, and he asks you not to go looking for him,"

"You know I don't listen to Sonic that well," I retorted, putting my hands on my hips.

"I know that, but he says it's too dangerous,"

"What could he possibly be doing?"

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me,"

I swallowed and stared at the floor, whispering, "Do you think he'll come back?"

Tails shrugged, but smiled slightly, "I'm sure he will,"

_***FLASH BACK ENDS***_

I clenched my fists and glared at the snow, "You're not doing this again to me, Sonic. You're not breaking my heart," I ran off the lawn onto the sidewalk. My skateboard slapped onto the concrete and I hopped on, rolling down the street and into the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Unintentionally I ended up at Shelby's house. I was just down the street when I dialed her cell phone number.

"Amy alert," I mumbled.

"Got it!" Shelby answered and hung up. I rolled up the driveway straight to the front door. The door opened before I smashed into it and I skated into the living room.

"Hey," Kai called and shut the door.

"Hey," I replied, "Where's Shelby?"

"Over here!" a voice called. Kai and I followed in to her bedroom. Shelby stood in the plum colored room on a stool in front of her full length mirror. She wore a white dress with a black ivy design with a ruffled skirt and a one shoulder top. There were pins in the bunched up fabric around her waist and on the sleeve.

"Hey, Amy!" she smiled and waved at me happily, "What brings you down?"

"Let's see, my step mother, my dad, Alanna, when I slip on mud, dark days, my flowers dying, Sonic coming back – "

"What?" Kai interrupted, accidently stabbing Shelby with a needle.

"Ow!" Shelby cried.

"He's back? Oh God, Amy!" Kai looked closely at me.

"I know," I laid down on Shelby's bed and stared out of her window. The sky turned darker than the usual night sky. Little flakes of snow splattered onto the glass. I thought maybe it was the Gods crying for me, or trying to ruin Alana's make up.

"How do you know he's back?" Shelby asked, holding as still as she could as Kai put the finishing touches on her dress.

"He was all over the news," I gulped. We stayed quiet for moments on end, the only sound being snow turning into rain, pounding harder on the window, and the very quiet noise of Kai's stitching. We were all deep in our own thoughts until my voice cracked into existence.

"He doesn't look like himself," I whispered shakily, "His fur is almost midnight blue and his skin is darker, tanner. He doesn't look like . . ." I cut myself off before I would say _my Sonic_.

He wasn't my Sonic anymore. The more I thought about it, he was never my Sonic. He was never mine. Always someone else's.

I stayed silent for a while before swallowing nothing and mumbling, "He went on a date with Alana tonight,"

"No!" Kai shrieked, stabbing Shelby again.

"Ow!" she screamed, "Are you going to draw blood out of me every time she's going to tell us something?"

"Relax, I'm almost finished," Kai began sewing again, "Are you serious, Amy?"

"Yes," I sighed, "He came over to get her and asked if I was here. She said no but Aden said yes. I nearly escaped seeing him by jumping out of the bedroom window,"

"Okay, you're good Shelby. Go take it off," Shelby ran into her bathroom as Kai sat down with me, "So what do you plan to do?"

"Avoid him for the rest of my life," I muttered. "You know you can't do that. You can't avoid him at school,"

"I'll ditch,"

"For the next two years?"

"Yes,"

"What about if he comes over to hang out with Alana?"

"I'll sneak out like I did tonight,"

"You can just live at my house whenever you have to go to your dad's," Shelby called from behind the closed door.

"That might work," I propped myself up onto my elbows.

Shelby came out of the bathroom dressed in a pink pajama tank top and pink and purple plaid pajama pants. She handed Kai the white dress while saying to me, "So you're staying over here, tonight?"

"Sure, if you want me to. But I don't have my stuff,"

"That's okay. You can borrow some of mine,"

"Okay, thanks,"

"You wanna stay over too Kai?"

"Sure, why not?" Kai answered, gently folding the dress and placing it in her bag, "Amy, I've got your dress in here too. Can you put it on so I can alter it?"

"Yeeeeeaaaaahhhh, about that . . ."


	4. Chapter 4

"So you can't go to the Masquerade party?" Kai asked sadly, pinning the shoulder straps of my dress to the cloth on my back.

"Well if I decorate for the party, clean the entire house, help Alana, Zelena, Daphnee, and Irine get dressed and stuff, and cook and bake all the food, plus get myself ready . . . then I can go to the party and serve alcoholic drinks and mini hot dogs,"

"That's so not fair! She can't do that, can she?" Shelby protested.

"If I don't want to be framed and sent to jail she can,"

"Wha - ? What does jail have to do with this?"

"She'll find a way to get me in trouble every way possible if I don't do what she says."

The doorbell rang and Shelby ran to the front door. Kai stooped to the floor and began sewing the hem of the skirt.

"Kai, what's the use? I'm never going to get to wear it," I turned my waist slightly, making the skirt of my dress sway. Kai held on tightly to the strip of cloth she was sewing on, "Oh, don't be so negative. You can wear it at a Christmas party or something,"

"Aren't Christmas dresses supposed to be red?"

"There you go again with the negativity,"

Shelby returned, but this time she wasn't alone. She was accompanied by three people. The first one was a pink hedgehog with Jade green eyes, peach skin, and long red hair that was braided. She wore a black dress, a brown trench coat – unbuttoned and open - black boots and ripped gloves. Her name was Avery Rose – my younger sister. She was fifteen and her name meant Ruler of Elves. Which totally explained her personality; she was all about fantasy and horror: vampires, werewolves, zombies, mummies, mud monsters, aliens, pixies, fairies, mermaids, pirates . . . this list could go on and on.

Then there was a light blue bunny behind her. She had brown eyes and ears that stood straight up. She wore a light lilac tank top that ended below her ribs in a wavy fashion and always had one sleeve hanging off her shoulder, jeans the color of creamy coffee, tennis shoes, and big, goofy glasses. Her name was Danielle.

The last person's name was Magenna. She was an orange . . . well, we didn't exactly know what she was and neither did she. She looks like a mix of an orange dog and an orange Koala with blonde hair, brown eyes, and tan skin. She wore only two pieces of green cloth. One was used as a shirt that was tied in the middle of her chest. The other was used as a skirt and was wrapped around the lower half of her body many times and tied at her right hip. Her parents were hippies and that fact alone should be the answer to everyone's questions about her.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked.

"Shelby invited us," Danielle answered.

"Wow, Amy! You look so pretty!" Avery dropped her bag at the door and ran over to me and studied me, "Kai, you're a genius! Although . . . the color doesn't look quite right . . ."

"What are you talking about? It looks perfect!" Magenna complimented.

"I just don't think it matches the color of her quill color. Pink and dark green don't go well together,"

"I thought you just said I was a genius," Kai shot.

"The color of the fabric will help her stand out from all the white and black," Danielle explained, catching on to Kai's plan.

"Wait, what?" I asked, confused. Standing out made me nervous.

"It's a Black and White Masquerade Ball, Amy. Didn't you know that?" Shelby asked.

"No, I didn't," I began to panic.

"It says right here on the flyer," she passed a scrap of yellow paper to me. There it was, in big, bold letters across the top of the page.

"You've got to be kidding me? Everyone is going to be blending in and I'll be the odd ball of the party!" I almost shrieked.

"How could you not know this?" Shelby asked, "You live with the freaking bitch that's planning this! And you're planning the whole thing on top of it,"

"Kai, why'd you do this to me?"

"Oh, relax. You need a little attention," she spoke, poking some pins into the waist line of the dress.

"Or a lot of attention . . . a lot of attention would be nice . . . whichever one you're comfortable with," Danielle mumbled. Kai dismissed me and I rushed into the bathroom. Gently pulling at the fabric of the dress, I shimmied out of it. I cracked the door open and dropped the item to the floor. I felt Shelby press more clothes into my hand and I pulled them into the room. She handed me a long-sleeved, red shirt and a pair of red shorts.

"I prefer no attention," I called through the door, sliding the shirt over my head.

"Oh, come on, Amy! Everyone needs a little attention. It's one of the things that helps an individual grow," Magenna said in a light southern accent.

I came out of the bathroom and sat down on Shelby's bed, "You're all paying attention to me now, aren't you?" Danielle stood and took her back pack into the bathroom. I uncurled myself and stretched out over the bed spread.

"Well, I can't go anyway," I muttered.

"What?" the whole room shouted. Everyone but Shelby and Kai were surprised by the news. I rolled my eyes and muttered, "I'm not explaining it again,"

The snow outside began to turn into a blizzard, but through it all you could still see the moon, big and bright and full. Kai mumbled quietly to the others as I let my thoughts wander. I wondered when Eggman would strike again. I wondered how in the world I would ever avoid Sonic for the rest of my life. I wondered what I would use that dress for. I wondered if Sonic was looking at the moon right now. Oh, Sonic, my Sonikku . . .

No! I shook my head thoroughly and zoned back into the real world. I wouldn't allow myself to fall in love with him again.

" . . . that's too bad. What will she use the dress for?"

"A Christmas dress, maybe,"

"Christmas dresses are red and white!" I said.

"Green is also a Christmas color!" Kai argued.

"Not that color green!"

The door bell rang and Shelby jumped to her feet.

"Damn, Shelby! How many people did you invite?" I asked.

"Just three more!" she answered. When she came back, a lime green cat, a navy blue hedgehog, and a grey bat followed her.

The lime green cat had blonde hair and dark, but bright, blue/purple eyes. She wore a yellow tube top that ended above her ribs, blue jeans that were rolled up to her knees, and orange sneakers with a yellow stripe in the middle. On her right wrist was a bronze bracelet with a green gem in the middle. Her name was Lindsey.

The navy blue hedgehog had stringy, curly blue hair and bangs, tan skin, and aqua blue eyes. She wore a dark blue bandana with a crescent moon and a light blue wave on it, several pairs of earrings, a purple tank top ending below her ribs, a dark blue jacket ending in the same place, blue jeans ending at her knees, black and white knee-high boots, and black fingerless gloves. Her name was Lani.

The bat had brown hair and bangs, tan skin, and brown eyes. She wore a black T-Shirt with a red tank top covering it, red and black stripped, fingerless gloves starting at her elbows, light blue jeans, red and black stripped socks, red pumps, a black belt, a chain belt, and a spiked bracelet. Her name was Abby.

"I brought pizza and ice cream!" Abby smiled, dropping two boxes of pizza and an ice cream tub on the desk.

"And I brought movies," Lindsey announced.

"There better not be any romance flicks in that pile," I warned. She smirked at me, "Do you really think that I would rent any chic flicks with Sonic back?" Dang, she knew everything.

"What?" everyone shouted.

"Oh, come on! Do any of you watch the news?" I asked, "Yes, he's back! He'll be re-attending school and hanging out with his friends,"

"Exactly why I left out the romantic, sappy mush," Lindsey told.

"What did you bring, Lani?" Magenna asked. Danielle stepped out of the bathroom wearing a dark purple tank top with even darker purple leopard spots and matching PJ bottoms.

"I brought me," Lani plopped herself onto the ground. Kai picked up her things and headed in after Danielle. I stood up and grabbed a slice of pizza, biting into the hot cheese and bread.

"So you can't go to the Masquerade Ball?" Lindsey asked. I swallowed and nodded.

"I have to do all the chores Tascha gives me, decorate for the party, clean the entire house, help Alana, Zelena, Daphnee, and Irine get ready, and cook and bake all the food."

"Well, what if you had help?"

I never thought of that. Alana never said I had to do it alone. A slow smile spread across my face, "Avery, have I told you you are the best sister ever?"

She smirked, "You just did,"

"So we'll all help you," Shelby announced "When is the Ball?"

"Five days," Kai answered.

"Hey, my cousin and her team are coming into town in two days. Maybe they can help us,"

"Perfect,"

The rest of the night passed in a dizzy blur, and before I knew it, we were all passed out on the floor. Well, almost all of us . . .

I woke up to the moonlight spilling through Shelby's bay window. I sat up and slipped out of my sleeping bag. Sinking into the sofa under the bay window, I leaned my head against the cold glass. How was I going to do it? How was I going to avoid Sonic for the rest of my life? Kai was right, I couldn't do it. What if we had the exact same schedule? Then I would have to ditch school every day. Or get my schedule changed.

"Amy?" someone whispered.

Shelby sat up on her bed, looking at Amy curiously. She shifted her frame and slid off her bed, sitting next me, "Are you alright?"

I nodded and returned my eyes to the snowy street, "Fine," I whispered.

"I know it's hard," she whispered, "That . . . um . . . You – Know – Who . . . is back,"

"What does Voldemort have to do with this?" I joked.

She smiled, "Oh ha, ha, very funny," and then her face fell again, "How can you bare it?" she asked.

I swallowed and looked at her, "I don't know," I told her, "It hurts. Badly. My . . . my love. My iold/i love is going out with my bitch of a sister, for heaven's sake. He left me without a word. He . . . he . . ."

"Say no more," she whispered. She knew it was hard for me to speak out about my new situation. I was glad she understood, "I would feel the same if Shadow left me." I nodded and looked out the window again. My whole body shook. I wanted to cry, like I did when I was fourteen. I cried so much over that damned blue hedgehog you'd have thought it would have flooded my house. Waiting every single day for his return, clinging onto Tails' every word about him, I sulked for what felt like forever.

Shelby's lilac purple hand laid itself on my knee, her thumb rubbing it. She smiled at me and whispered, "Go ahead and cry. It's okay,"

But I couldn't. I shook my head and told her, "Crying shows weakness," even softer I whispered, "I'm not weak,"

A shadow the shape of a hedgehog danced down the street, looking back at me.


	5. Chapter 5

December 8th

Today is Monday. The ball is Friday. How much can go wrong within a week? So much.

. - + * + - .

The sun rose in the sky, bright streams of light pouring in through the glass onto my closed eyelids. I squinted and opened them. I had fallen asleep on the soda, my neck and back stiff with sleep.

"Come on, Amy," Avery called. I groaned, "No, I'm not going,"

"You have to go," Magenna said, "You'll get in trouble if you don't,"

"Yeah? And what if he's in all of my classes?"

"And what if he's in none?" Danielle spoke up, "Hold on to 'what if' Amy,"

"Amy, Lindsey and I have agreed to drag you to school on your ass if you don't get up now and get dressed," Lani threatened.

Apparently I wasn't getting out of this one, "Fine," I growled, "But if I find out I have any – "

"I'll get you a copy of his schedule," Lindsey interrupted. I sighed and nodded, heading for the bathroom with my clothes from yesterday. I slipped on my dark blue jeans over my long, slender pink legs. Then I pulled a red spaghetti strap tank top over my head and my black leather jacket onto my shoulders. I took a brush out of my back pack and combed it through my long hair. It had grown to my knees now, and I didn't want to cut it until much later. The longer it was, the more Sonic wouldn't recognize me. I braided it into a tight French braid and I walked out the door.

Everyone began piling into Shelby's car, "Come on, Amy! We're gonna pick up some breakfast on the way to school," Shelby called.

I shook my head, "No thanks, I'm gonna shred,"

"Want us to pick – "

"Just get her two or three hash browns and an orange juice from McDonalds," Lindsey answered for me. I nodded and hopped on my skateboard. The high school was only a few blocks away, so I skated as fast as I could. No, I wasn't late, and you might be thinking why I would go so fast if the building was so close and I wasn't late. Simple: I liked going fast. Actually, I loved it. It was the best thing in the world. I breathed in the wind flying at my face and sped up. The sound of the small wheels under my board clacking filled my ears.

The high school was like any other in the country. Two story building, a cafeteria, a pool, and school colors. Ours just happened to be gold and silver. I walked up the steps to the front door, pulling the hood of my hoodie over my head and shades over my eyes. When I got to my locker, there was a note attached to it. I took the tape off and warily opened it up.

**Sonic T. Hedgehog**

**Locker #74**

**Period Subject Teacher Room**

1 N.Y. History Tenison 101

2 Physical Education Hends Gym

3 Comp/Lit A Creasman 25

4 Tech Ed Decker 62

5 Lunch

6 Astronomy 1 Sutter 153

7 World Geography B Haley 99

8 Algebra Bollan 12

Dang, Lindsey could get information quick! Okay, so we had lunch together. And his locker was nowhere near mine. Thank you all mighty scheduling computer! I smiled the smallest one a person could smile and opened up my locker. Inside were a steaming McDonald's bag and a large, clear cup of orange juice. I took the straw into my mouth and sucked, swallowing the sweet liquid. I sighed and headed off to class.

It would be easy to avoid Sonic at lunch. Not many people went outside to eat lunch. They usually stayed inside of the café where inside it looked like a food court. So I figured I'd just eat in Matt's car for the rest of the year.

I just didn't expect Matt to join me himself.

"Matt, stop, I'm trying to eat," I complained with half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich sticking out of my mouth. He leaned my back against him and kissed my neck tenderly which his hands tried to take off my shirt.

"Come on, Amy," he whined against my skin.

"I told you before: no. I'm not like – "

"Like your sister? Boy do I wish,"

I elbowed him in the gut and slid over to the passenger seat. He rubbed his swelling stomach angrily, "Damnit, Amy," he muttered.

"I'm not ready yet," I told him, sipping my soda. He pulled me back to him, hugging me close, kissing my forehead, "I'm sorry," and then his lips were on mine. He kissed me deeply, his hands roaming down my legs and ticking my feet. I giggled and kissed him back.

The bell rang and we broke apart. He held the door open and held out his hand to me, helping me out. He kissed my forehead and headed off to class. I threw my trash away and followed him . . . until a flash of blue crossed my eyesight. I gasped and ducked down between two large trucks. Sonic ran past me without looking down. I waited before standing up again. He kept running the other direction, slowly gaining speed. I swallowed and tried to resist the urge to follow him. _'Stay away from him.'_ I thought, running the other way.

The rest of the day passed in a slow, dull stun. I walked down corridors carefully and snuck around corners with a mirror. If I saw any sign of blue spikes, I went the other way to my class room.

When the bell rang at the end of the say I ran to my locker, grabbed my skateboard and back pack and skated toward the school entrance. I heard the voice that haunted me before the accident happened.

"Hey, Amy," her nasty, musical voice sounded. The next thing I knew my face skidded across tile and my skateboard rolled away into the crowd. A hiss rose in my throat and I flipped myself onto my back. Alana, Zelena, Daphnee, and Irine stood over me.

Daphnee was a black fox like Zelena, but her hair was a rainbow of red, yellow, and blue. She had piercing lilac purple eyes. She wore a loose, fluttery green tank top and light blue shorts riding up her but and green high-heeled sandals.

Irine looked like her sisters almost. She had red, white, and black hair and bright, red, evil looking eyes. She wore a red dress with jeans underneath them and dark red pumps.

They all looked down at me with _'we're better than_ _you'_ looks. I rolled my eyes and stood up, "What was that for?" I asked.

"Mom wants you home as soon as possible," Daphnee announced, "She's got more chores for you to do,"

"Why don't you tell her to get an actual maid?" I snapped.

"Because we already have one that we don't have to pay," Irine answered.

I sighed, "Whatever, I have to go," and I began to walk away. But Alana grabbed onto my upper arm and pulled me back, "Aww, don't leave yet, you little pink brat. If you stay a while longer, you might get to see Sonic,"

"I don't want to see him," I said.

"You don't? But I thought you were in love with him!" Alana whined.

I swallowed and pulled harder, "Let go,"

"Aren't you like his own personal stalker or something?"

"NO!"

"How pathetic," Zelena noticed, "Wasn't she always begging him to take her on a date or marry her?" she bellowed. Of course Alana would've told her.

"Yes, she was,"

I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths. My blood boiled in rage under my skin and my hands shook with anger. I needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

"She's such a loser," Irine said.

"Totally," Daphnee agreed.

"Let's get this straight while we're talking about the subject," Alana hissed in my ear, "Sonic will never love you. He never has, never will," And if you ever thought that he would – "

I slapped her.


	6. Chapter 6

My hand swung backwards and slid harshly right across her perfect tan skin. The four of them gasped and stood still. A large, red mark formed on Alana's cheek.

"Alana? What are you doing?"

It was Sonic. My eyes popped out of my head and I elbowed her in the ribs. She let me go.

"Amy?"

Throwing my hood over my head, I raced out of the school. I heard his fast footsteps behind me and I ran faster. He called my name the closer he got.

"Amy, wait!" he yelled. I could feel tears filling up my eyes and I sped up. I ran into town and spotted Joe's Cleaning Service. Panting, I gripped the door handle and slipped inside. Joe, a balding grey hedgehog wearing a suit, met me in the back room.

"Amy, what are you doing here? You aren't supposed to be here until five," my boss informed me.

"There's . . . someone . . . chasing me . . ." I panted.

The door opened in the main office. Joe looked between me and the door. He left the back room.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"Yes, I'm looking for a girl that ran in here earlier,"

"I'm sorry, but there hasn't been anyone in this establishment since it opened this morning."

"I'm sorry, but I know she ran in here. I just saw her come in."

"Is she yey tall? Pink fur? Hedgehog? Wearing a black leather jacket with a hood, a red tank top, and jeans?"

"Yes,"

"Never seen her,"

I tried not to laugh too loud.

After a while more of arguing, Sonic left the store. Joe came back into the store's work room and gave me a wink. I sighed and thanked him over and over.

"I so owe you,"

"Yes, you do," he replied, "Tomorrow, your crew needs to go to 121 Shenandoah Drive to clean up after the Hale's daughter's Sweet Sixteen, and Thursday there's a new condo that needs cleaning."

"But Joe, my sister's Masquerade Ball is this weekend and I have to set up,"

"Let me make a compromise then," he said, "Do the clean up tomorrow and I'll send another team on Thursday and we can work out more details later."

"Yes, sir. Thank you,"

"Just make sure you're back at five,"

"I will, sir,"

Okay, so you'd think that if I'd slap my sister everything would be fine, right? I wouldn't get in trouble, right?

Wrong.

I walked up to the front door and as soon as I touched the door knob, it swung open, revealing the mayor of Station Square. My dad.

"My office," he muttered, "Now,"

I sighed and followed him. The only time Dad ever spoke to me was when I was in trouble.

"You slapped your sister in the middle of a school hallway this afternoon," he stated, sitting down in a plush leather chair behind a polished oak desk. I glared at him, sinking into another leather chair. I knew Alana would tattle on me.

"Alana told me everything," he said, confirming my suspicions, "She also told me that you snuck out last night to see some boy?"

. . . what?

"What?" I asked, "No, I was at a friend's house,"

"That's not what I heard."

"You heard wrong,"

"Amy – "

"I'm telling you the truth, Dad! I went to Shelby's house and slept over,"

"Did you meet a boy over there?"

"No!"

"Well, since Alana saw it – "

"She didn't see anything!" She was too busy munching on her stupid boyfriend's lips!"

" – I'm not giving you the benefit of the doubt this time,"

I slammed my fists on his desk and stood up, "Since when have you ever given me the benefit of the doubt? I always get in trouble for something!"

"Amy – "

"I'm serious, Dad! How come I always get in trouble and no one else does?"

"Harry gets in trouble, too," 

"He's a kid, he doesn't know any better. Any maybe he wouldn't be in trouble so much if you and Tascha spent more time WITH him instead of yelling AT him!"

"We're not discussing the subject anymore," he growled, slipping his glasses onto his nose, "You're grounded until Saturday."

"What am I grounded for?" I screamed.

"For sneaking out of the house last night without my permission, for showing me disrespect, and for hitting your older sister. Do you know how much you embarrassed her today?"

"Do you know how much she embarrasses me every hour?"

"Do not argue with me, young lady," he yelled, "Your punishment: you will do every chore that your step – mother gives you. You will go to school, go to work, and come straight home. You will help set up for Alana's party and help the girls get ready for the party but you will not go,"

"You can't be serious!" I called.

"I am completely serious," he said in a calm voice, "You are dismissed,"

I stomped to the door and pulled it open. Looking back at him, I said, "And you know, I would respect you more if you showed some respect to me. You don't even treat me like your own daughter!" I stepped out of his office and slammed the door. Muttering under my breath, I said, "Show me some respect and I'll show you some,"


	7. Chapter 7

December 9th  
>I hate my life.<p>

. - + * + - .

Harry is a seven year old black fox with the same ice blue eyes as his relatives, but warmer and more curious than threatening. He always wears baggy clothing and is very quiet. Most of the time he never speaks, but somehow he always gets into trouble.

I knocked on the door of his bedroom. The kid opened it and stared up at me those big blue eyes. Then he let me into his room.

For a boy, his room was relatively clean. A few dirty clothes in a pile, a video game case or two in the corner, covers of his bed strewn sideways and crooked, just the regular kind of mess. I set my bucket of cleaning supplies next to the door and stripped his bed. He sat on his computer chair and watched me clean.

"How are you, Harry?" I looked over my shoulder. He shrugged and stared at the floor. I nodded. After I removed the old sheets from his bed, I put his dirty clothes in his hamper and straightened his shelves. As I vacuumed the carpet, he disappeared into the hallway and reappeared with an armload of fresh sheets for his bed.

"Thanks," I said, and began to make his bed.

As I cleaned the windows, I heard his tiny voice behind me, low and scared.

"Amy?"

I finished the windows and looked at him, "Yes?"

"What did you get in trouble for?" he squeaked quietly.

"Um . . . I hit Alana . . . and I snuck out," I answered.

"Oh,"

I sat lightly on his made-up bed, looking suspiciously. He was looking at his feet, biting his lip and breathing heavily.

"Harry?" I whispered, "What happened?"

He didn't answer.

"Harry?"

He looked up at me and whispered, "I asked Alana where you were going. I saw you jumping out the window,"

So Harry asked Alana where I was . . . which tipped Alana off . . . and Alana told Dad I snuck out to go on a macking session with an unknown boy . . .

Do you see the evil here?

"I was worried about you. I thought you were running away,"

Aww!

I smiled slightly and beckoned him to me. Hesitantly, he came to me and sat on my lap. I hugged the little boy and he froze at the show of affection. Then he hugged me back slightly, resting his head on my shoulder. I pulled back and he looked at me with his huge, crystal blue eyes, "I'm sorry," he whimpered.

"It's alright," I told him, "And you know, you don't have to worry about me. I'll be okay,"

He nodded once and hopped off my lap. I stood up and the doorbell went off downstairs.

"Coming!" I called, picking up my cleaning supplies and leaving his room, with him tailing me. I opened the door to find Lindsey and several new faces. Letting them in, MI set the cleaning supplies in the closet. Harry hid behind me, away from the strangers.

"Amy, this is my cousin, Audrey Black!" Lindsey announced. She motioned toward a white wolf with dirty blonde hair, dark, sky blue eyes, and glasses.

"Nice to meet you," she said, smiling.

"You too," I said, "I could use all the help I can get,"

"When do you want us to start working?"

"Now if you don't mind?"

"Got it," Audrey turned to the people who were laughing and talking behind her, "Guys, we gotta work now,"

"Awww, but I don't wanna work yet!" one of them said. She looked like she was a mix between a blue bird and a blue bunny, with black, stringy hair and teal eyes.

"Rockelle, if you work now, I'll give you a jar of peanut butter,"

"Okay!" she squealed.

I turned to Harry and kneeled down to his height, "Harry, why don't you go upstairs to my room. If you look in the mini – fridge on my side, you'll find some fudge pops. Have as many as you want,"

"Okay," he said and hopped up the stairs.

I sent Audrey and two of her team mates, a grey wolf with electric blue eyes named Blake and a red fox with brown hair and teal eyes named Sophie, upstairs to clean the Perfect Threesome's (which is the newest name I came up with to call Zelena, Daphnee, and Irine) rooms. A penguin with black hair and yellow eyes named Pie, Rockelle, and a tiger with brown hair and brown eyes named Rianna went out to the patio where the ball would be held. Lindsey, a brown wolf with brown hair and brown eyes named Kenya, and I stayed inside and prepared the food.

"So what's your team like? Anything like the Sonic Team?" I asked, pulling a carton of eggs out of the refrigerator.

"Somewhat, from what I've heard," Kenya answered, flipping through the party menu Alana set up, "Audrey is Team Strange's leader and Blake is the co – leader and, to his pretenses, the 'sensible one' cause apparently we're all crazy. I'm the scientific nerd, because I'm the smartest in every school subject except Literacy. That's Audrey's area. We call Rockie the supportable instigator because she supports everyone, kind of, and she gets into TONS of trouble. Sophie is the jokester because she's extremely friendly and can make anyone laugh. Pie is the disguise specialist, which has gotten us out of a lot of situations. And Rianna is the body guard. Even though she looks like a fragile doll, that girl knows how to throw some mean punches."

"How come Audrey's the team leader,"

Kenya shrugged, "I don't know. We all kind of decided she was because she's got those good leader skills. Well, beside's talking. She hates talking to people she doesn't know. Too shy, I guess. But we kind of all became friends through her. She brought us all together."

My cell rang. I flipped it open and pressed it to my ear, "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Shelby,"

"What's up? You coming over?"

"Yeah. Do you need us to pick anything up on our way?"

"Yes, actually, I do," I gave them the grocery list and hung up.

"Cucumber sandwiches?" Kenya questioned, searching the menu, "Ginger Ale? Caviar? God, is she trying to starve everyone?"

"Guess so," Lindsey giggled.

"Can we change the menu?" Kenya asked in disgust, "This is all wrong. We need the big guns! The party food!" she began scribbling on the menu.

"What exactly are 'the big guns'?" I asked.

"Hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, soda, you know, party food! Anything is better than this crap!"

"I thought you were a vegetarian," Audrey interrupted, coming downstairs.

"Didn't say I was gonna eat any of it," she muttered, still scribbling on the menu.

"Hey, got anymore cleaning supplies?" Audrey asked, "Blake and Sophie got into a Windex fight,"

"Closet down the hall to your left," I answered. She smiled and followed my instructions, then headed back upstairs, screaming for them to knock it off.

Then there was a sudden voice that made my heart sink and leap at the same time.

Sonic The Hedgehog stood outside on the patio, talking to Rockelle and Rianna.

"Shit!" I hissed and ducked down behind the island. Lindsey looked through the window and ducked down with me with a gulp.

"I told them if they saw a blue hedgehog around this house, they were to say they were a decorating crew hired for Alana's party and they were to deny him access into the house," she whispered assuring to me.

"That's exactly what they're doing," Kenya said out of the corner of her mouth, "But he's not taking no for an answer," I peeked around the island. Sure enough, Rockelle and Rianna weren't letting him in the house. But he didn't seem to care.

"I have to get out of here!" I cried. There was a hiss behind me and my head whipped around. Sophie was crouched down on the steps, beckoning me to follow her. I crossed the room on my belly and then ran with her up to the very back of the house, Zelena's room, where Audrey was pretending to clean the windows while really watching Sonic.

"He's coming in!" she murmured.

"What's so big about this dude, anyway?" Blake asked in a flat voice.

"Never mind that," Sophie said, "The only way is out the window,"

"Act normal and tell Lindsey to call me when the coast is clear," I told them. I slipped my four-foot frame out of the bay window and hurdled myself toward the snow covered ground. My hands stun with icy cold as I landed. Hearing the door slide close and the rustle of voices, I crawled through the bushes to the neighborhood behind them.

"Amy!"

Parked on the side of the road was Matt. Confusion swept over me, but I didn't question him as he threw the passenger door open.

"Where to?" he asked, breathlessly.

"Anywhere!" I cried, "As long as it's not here!"


	8. Chapter 8

We ended up near a river, making out on the hood of his car. The sounds of the river, out heavy breathing, and his whispers filled my ears as I pulled away to breathe. He kissed down the side of my face, whispering my name all the while. I giggled and kissed him again, choking on his cigarette-flavored tongue. This time he pulled away, reaching up to the windshield for his Coke.

"How'd you know where to find me?" I panted.

"What?" he asked, swallowing soda.

"When I ran away from my house this afternoon, you were there,"

"Lindsey called me," he answered simply. My confusion grew. That was impossible for her to call him and for him to turn up within my thirty second escape. But his voice cleared through my thoughts, "Was it that Sonic-character again?"

I nodded. He growled.

"I can't believe he left you without saying goodbye."

"I couldn't believe it either,"

"I mean, wasn't he your best friend?"

"That's what I thought, but I guess not,"

"What if we went off the radar?"

My head snapped toward him, "What?"

Mat reached and pulled a yellow flyer out of his back pocket, "Hawaii Class Trip next week. We could go and never come back,"

I looked at the yellow paper. We could definitely get off anyone and everyone's radar with this trip. We could get a plane to the very tip of California and then take a boat to Hawaii. We could both get jobs and live next to the ocean and no one would ever know where we went.

"All we need are a few thousand dollars and an alibi and we're home free," he stated with a mischievous smile.

"You mean like, run away?" I asked, my eyes roaming the flyer.

"Yupp,"

"I could get in a lot of trouble for this,"

"Yupp,"

"A lot of people would be hurt,"

"Yupp,"

"I'd have to steal a lot of money from my Dad,"

"Yupp,"

I took another glance at the hand-out, reading over the details. Two years ago, I couldn't – wouldn't – bear to leave Sonic. But if he had left to Europe, without letting me know where he was going, when he was coming back, or even if saying goodbye, he hadn't felt the same way.

I thought he was my best friend.

Guess not.

Maybe leaving would be a good thing for me. Maybe never seeing Sonic again, like I planed to, would be even better.

"I'll think about it,"


	9. Chapter 9

December 10th

Harry is the sweetest little boy, my favorite of the Fox Family. And that's saying a lot. The poor little kid gets beat up as much as I do.

In times like these, the picked on have to stay together.

. - + * + - .

When Dad and Tascha had left for work and The Perfect Threesome + One (+ One = Alana) had gone to the mall of to their boyfriends, Lindsey, Lani, Shelby, Abby, Magenna, Danielle, Avery and Team Strange came to help out again.

"We brought what you asked for," Shelby noted, dumping the contents of two brown paper bags onto the dining room table. Black and white streamers, balloons, paper cups and plates, plastic table cloths, and black light bulbs littered the counter.

"I also brought the new menu!" Kenya announced, setting the bags she carried onto the island in the kitchen.

"Sweet," I answered, "Let me just put these away first," I began to gather the decorations back into their bags, but suddenly they loaded themselves back in and the bags zoomed into the pantry. My eyes widened and I stared around at everyone. Audray had a smirk on her face.

"What - ?"

"Mind control," she, Lindsey, and Sophia answered at the same time.

Blake sighed and explained, "They both have mind reading too,"

I looked at Lindsey, "So mind reading runs in the family?"

She looked guilty, "Yes,"

"She thinks it's a curse or something, but I think it's fun," Audray said.

"It's not fun, it's abnormal and an invasion of privacy!" Lindsey fired, "I've been called a freak before because of it,"

"In case you haven't known, Lindsey dear, we live in an abnormal world. So we're nothing out of the ordinary." She rolled her eyes and continued to explain, "I can do anything that involves my mind,"

"Like moving objects," I stated, "What else?"

"Control emotions," she said. For an example, she focused on Lindsey, who was extremely pissed off. After a minute or two, a smile broke across her face and she started jumping up and down like a little kid on Christmas. Audray withdrew her attention and Lindsey immediately because mad again.

"And?" I asked.

"Make people feel mental pain," she answered.

"Hey, that's my job!" Blake protested. Then he said to Kenya, "Your grandparents doing it," Kenya thought about it for a minute, and then cried, "EWWWW!"

Everyone laughed.

"Alright guys, let's get working!" Audray laughed.

"So what did Alana say about the menu change?" Kenya asked.

"She said it was fine, only because it'd get more boys to come," I answered.

"It sure will!" Rockie agreed, "Men like their meat!"

The doorbell rang the same time as Lindsey's cell phone rang. She picked it up while I ran to the door. Kai waited on the other side with her sewing things. She hugged me as I let her in.

"I gotta make some alterations to your dress," she told me, setting her stuff by the door and rummaging around for my dress.

"I can't go," I told her.

"What?" she quickly glanced around at me.

"My dad grounded me for slapping Alana and 'sneaking out to see a boy,'"

"You snuck out to see Matt?" she questioned.

"No, I snuck out to see Shelby, remember?"

"Then how'd he get the 'boy' part?"

"Alana," I answered simply.

"Got it." She understood,

"Hey, Amy!" Alana called from the kitchen, "Where were you last night?"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"We were supposed to clean that mansion at five and you weren't there."

"Oh shit, I was with Matt!"

"Again?" Kai groaned.

"Kai, I'm not going to dump him just because you groan."

"Fine," she pouted, "Well, while I'm here, I need to put some alterations on Shelby and Danielle's dress too." She picked up her sewing supplies and headed upstairs, "Shelby, Danielle, Rockie, upstairs!"

"Coming!" they called together, hoping upstairs after her. I rolled my eyes and walked back into the kitchen. Lindsey slapped her phone shut.

"Audray, we have another cousin coming in." she announced.

"Who?" Audrey asked, curious.

"Jessie,"

"Jessie?" she asked, "Haven't seen that girl in years,"

"Yupp," Lindsey answered, "She's at the airport right now and I gotta pick her up. You wanna come with me?"

"Sure,"

The day went by fast, and by six everyone left out the back door, leaving the fridge stocked with food and the house sparkling clean. I climbed the wooden stairs. I wasn't even at the top when the oak front doors slammed open and closed and everyone was shouting. The Perfect Threesome + One climbed the stairs to their rooms, pushing me out of their way harshly. I leaned over the railing to see Harry backing into a wall, with Dad advancing on him.

"Son, how many times have I told you that if you wanted something, we'll buy it for you?"

You say that all the time and you never buy him anything, I thought bitterly.

"Stealing is not the way to get something you want. Do you realize that every time you do something stupid, like cheating or stealing, it costs me more and more of my reputation? I'm the mayor whose kids steal gum and candy!"

And the mayor who cares more about his reputation than his own kids.

"You are the most bird-brained, unworthy, irresponsible kid –"

I couldn't take it anymore. I ran down the stairs two at a time and ran in front of Harry.

"Get out of the way, Amy," he growled.

"No," I retorted.

"Don't you dare disrespect or disobey me!"

"Remember that respect discussion we had, _Dad_? You respect me and I'll respect you,"

"Then respect me by moving aside," his face was boiling and steam rolled out of his ears.

"No," I stood my ground. Harry pressed himself against the back of my legs, hiding.

_SLAP!_

An angry red pattern of his hand bloomed on my cheek, stinging like crazy. I didn't falter as I glared at him, watching his frame rise and fall with heavy breaths. Harry whimpered behind me, grabbing onto the skin of my legs tightly.

"I told you to move aside," he repeated, "Respect your father, young lady,"

"You're not my father!" I screamed, "You're a monster!"

His hand swung up to hit me when the doorbell rang. He took a deep breath, straightened his suit, and went to answer the door.

"Come on, Harry," I picked him up. He wrapped his tiny arms and legs around me, "Let's go to the park,"

The night I was called into the mayor's office again; grounded for another week as soon as I get back from my Mom's house.


	10. Chapter 10

December 11th

Running away with Matt sounds more and more like a good idea every day. For one thing, I'm treated like dirt at the mayor's house (no more calling him Dad) plus the fact that Sonic seems to pop up everywhere I am.

Alana's Ball is tomorrow and thanks to everyone's help, I'm actually ahead of schedule. After school, I need to pick up The Perfect Threesome + One's dresses and clean that apartment for Joe.

I think Kai, Shelby, and Rockie are planning something. They keep looking at me and then giggling. Plus when everyone comes over they disappear upstairs. And if I call her, I can hear Rockie and Shelby in the bathroom.

Something's going on and it involves me . . . and I'm not sure I like it.

Tonight was the longest work night of my life. I don't think I've ever had to clean up a party location this badly. I mean, seriously! There were chunks of crusted food clinging to the ceiling, trash strewn all over the house, layers of grime on the walls, and I think I even saw some pee stains on the carpet. And get this: there were even things on fire when we got there! And I think Avery found a used condom under a bed in one of the master bedrooms. How disturbing is that? She was pale white when she poked it with her broom. What a mental picture.

. - + * + - .

"What the . . . that's not . . . what I think it is . . . is it Amy?"

"Yes, Avery. It's exactly what you think it is."

"Gross!" she looked like she was going to puke. Her face turned into a light green with a sheet of sweat.

"Here, I'll get it." Magenna swept the piece of rubber into her trash bag, "If you know how my parents are, these things are laying around everywhere in their bedroom."

"Oh yeah, you have, like ten siblings?" Danielle asked.

"Fifteen," Magenna corrected.

This is another example of how I was like Cinderella. I had a job as a maid. I, my little sister, Avery, Magenna, and Danielle were all a packaged deal. The Hale's must have thrown a HUGE Sweet Sixteen party for their daughter. If we don't get this cleaned up in three hours, we might have to call back up.

"So you can't go to the dance?" Magenna asked.

"Nope," I answered, sweeping trash into a bag.

"If you could go, who would you go with?" Avery asked.

"Matt of course! Who else?" Danielle squealed excitedly.

"Who said I would be going with Matt?" I asked nervously.

"You'd have to go with Matt! He's your boyfriend!"

I smirked, "I would go with him if one: I were going and two: if Matt was interested in doing balls and dances and stuff. He's only into playing his guitar, smoking, drinking, and trying to get me naked."

Avery gave me a mischievous smile, "There's always Sonic,"

"Don't you even joke about that," I growled.

"He's with Alana, anyway. They'll most likely be going together," Magenna informed.

"You have a boyfriend, and Sonic has a girlfriend," Avery agreed.

"Why are we even talking about this subject right now?" I asked with sarcastic confusion. We all laughed and continued to clean.

"But if you could go with Sonic, would you?" Danielle asked, picking up a banana peel and flipping it into her trash bag.

"Have you guys been oblivious to the week's events?" I asked, dumbstruck, "No, I would not go with Sonic. If Sonic was going, I wouldn't go,"

"But it's a MASKED Ball!" Magenna reminded me, "So he wouldn't know who you are,"

"Doesn't matter," I told her, "I still wouldn't go,"

"You are so stubborn!"

"Get used to it," I muttered, trying to peel a wrapper off the underside of a table, "Are any of you guys going?"

"I am!" Danielle sighed, "Just by myself though. Can't find anyone to go with me."

"Lucky!" Magenna cried, "My parents won't let me go,"

"Neither will Mom," Avery agreed, "She thinks I'm too young,"

"You are," I told her, "There'll be beer and wine – "

"And people getting it on!" Magenna interrupted with a laugh.

"Not something age appropriate for you," I confirmed.

She sighed, "That's what you always say,"

"What are you wearing to the Ball?" Magenna asked Danielle while scrubbing at a stain on the carpet.

Danielle scrapped crusted applesauce off of a wall before answering, "A white, strapless dress with a really wide black ribbon around my waist."

"Nice," I said.

"Amy?" Avery asked.

"What?" I asked, pulling a pair of socks out of the folds of the couch.

"If you could go to the ball, and Sonic wasn't there, would you go?"

It surprised me when I said, "Yeah, I think I might."


	11. Chapter 11

December 12th

I sooooo didn't expect this, and I am sooooo going to kill everyone!

. - + * + - .

Alana slapped down a twenty dollar bill over my magazine color.

"What's this for?" I asked warily.

"A hair cut, some highlights, and a decent manicure and pedicure," she said, wrinkling her nose at my messy attempt for a bun and chipping red nails, "No servant at my party will look anything less than perfect,"

"Oh, didn't you hear," I said with a smirk, "I'm not serving at your stupid ball,"

That threw her off guard, "But you're grounded. Dad said you HAVE to serve my ball!"

I threw my sleepover bag onto my shoulder, "Changed his mind," I said, "He didn't want me anywhere near your party so I'm sleeping over at Lindsey's. But thanks for the twenty!" and I ran out the front door before she could catch me. I threw my skateboard out in front of me and jumped onto it, coasting down the hill. Two blocks away, I called Linds and gave her the Amy Alert and road straight into her living room. Kai and Lindsey were standing by the door. Kai had a grin lighting up her face. I looked at her warily, "Why are you smiling?"

"Come on!" she squealed, "We're gonna go do girly stuff!"

"What?" I asked, "No. Absolutely not. No way!"

"Relax! All you're going to do are get some highlights, a hot wax, and a mani-pedi," Kia explained.

"Hot wax? Mani-pedi? Nuh-uh! I don't do hot and I can do my own nails. Much cheaper anyway,"

"Yeah, but you got that twenty bucks from your sister, right?" Lindsey noted.

I stared at her in disbelief, "How'd you know that?"

"Mind reading comes in handy from time to time," she answered.

"Oh, so you're in on this too?"

Lindsey shrugged, "Kai said she'd kill me if I didn't go along with this,"

Kai smiled at her own cliché threat.

"What if we run into Sonic though?" I whined nervously.

"Amy, do you really think that Sonic would hang around in a salon?" Kai asked, "Come on, you're out of excuses, let's go!"

Looked like I wasn't going to get out of this one.

Minutes late we drove up to the closest salon. Lindsey hopped out of the car, whining, "Why are cars so slow? I could've been here in two seconds!"

"Oh wah wah, get over it," Kai instructed, pushing me into the salon. We marched up to the front desk and checked in for our appointments.

I got exactly what Kai had ordered for me. The hot wax treatment was painful as hell and my pink fur was now blotched red, but at least my legs were smooth. The mani-pedi? Well, kind of relaxing, I guess. Kind of relieved to see my nails devil red and sparkling instead of that cheap, crappy red clay I bought at the dollar store.

Lindsey didn't get anything done. She sat in the waiting area, talking to Knuckles quietly on her cell phone. Kai had her hair washed with a honey treatment and light blue highlights. She also got a purple mani-pedi with white snowflakes on the bottom right corners.

When my mani-pedi dried I was seated in a salon chair behind a sink and had my hair washed. I closed my eyes and relaxed as I felt the dye brush apply light and dark pink dye in my hair.

"Alright, you're done!" the woman said, drying my hair with a towel.

I opened my eyes.

Oh. My. God.

MY. HAIR. WAS. BROWN. BROWN!

"What did you do to my hair?" I screamed.

"Wasn't that what I was supposed to do?" the hairdresser asked, surprised by my outrage.

"You ruined my - !"

Kai slammed a lollipop into my mouth, paid the hairdresser, and shoved me outside into the car. I was still ranting when we got back to Lindsey's house, running my hands through my hair, almost in tears.

"My hair! My hair! She died my hair brown!" I shrieked, opening the door and storming in.

Then I saw a lot of people.

Magenna, Danielle, Avery, Lani, Shelby, and Team Strange stared at me with goofy smiles on their faces. Audrey, Rockie, Sophia, Shelby, and Danielle were dressed in ball gowns. Audrey's dress was a white halter top ending an inch below her knees with billions of black dots and a wide, black ribbon around her waist. Rockie had a black, strapless dress with a ton of ruffles at the bottom of her skirt. Sophia had a long, white gown with a full skirt with long sleeves and black edges. Shelby had on the dress I'd seen her in before, the one white dress with a black ivy design with a ruffled skirt and a one shoulder top Danielle had the exact dress she described, a white, strapless dress with a really wide black ribbon around my waist. Blake and Pie were both dressed in black tuxedoes.

"Surprise!" Kai and Rockie screamed in my ears, "You're going to the ball!"

"I – I can't," I stuttered, "I'm grounded, remember?"

"Which is why we paid to die your hair brown," Pie answered, circling me and giving me a once over.

"Think it'll do, Pie?" Audrey asked.

"Oh, definitely," he said, "If you add her dress and the mask, no one on Earth will recognize her. Not even her sisters,"

"That was on purpose?" I shrieked, running my hands through my long, now bark colored hair.

"Don't worry, we asked for temporary die," Kai informed, "Come see your dress!"

"I've seen the dress before," I whined as she pushed me into Lindsey's bedroom.

"No you haven't!"

Lindsey's closet was open, revealing a long, tight red dress with a V – neck, a wide slit in the middle, and ruffles surrounding the edges. My dream dress!

"That is so not my dress! My dress isn't that beautiful,"

"Hey, thanks for the vote in confidence," Kai retorted.

"Pie and I designed it," Rockie swelled with pride. I turned to look at the people with dresses and tuxedoes on.

"How come you guys are dressed up?" I asked.

"Spies in disguise," Blake said in his flat tone.

"We're gonna pretend to be guests while actually monitoring your family," Audrey announced.

I took another look at the dress, stared at my friends, and for the first time in two years, broke into a face-filling smile! "You think this could work?"

"Absolutely!" they shouted together.

"Now hurry!" Kai cried, "It starts in an hour,"


	12. Chapter 12

I realized that we did a good job decorating as Shelby pulled up to the house. She leaned back and handed me a pair of red dangly earrings, "Put these on,"

"Why?" I asked, taking the earrings and slipping them through the holes in my ears,"

"They have microphones in them so you can hear us. We all have them in some form," she informed.

"Audrey checking in," Audrey said to her bracelet, "Is everything okay?"

"Coast is clear," Magenna's voice sounded through Audrey's bracelet, "You guys are good to go in. Magenna clear,"

"Audrey clear,"

"Let's go," Danielle said, opening the passenger door. Why Alana wanted to have a party outside in the middle of winter I would never figure out. I opened the door and a blast of cold air met me, gliding up my bones and making my teeth chatter. We all climbed out and straightened ourselves.

"Have fun!" Audrey said, giving me a hug. Then she slipped her arm through Blake's, rather reluctantly.

"You too," I giggled at their retreating backs.

"Not gonna happen," she called back.

Sophia walked up to me, "She hates dancing and dresses," she answered, "If she could have her way, she'd be one of the people on the outside looking in. But everyone agreed that she and Blake made a cute couple so she wasn't gonna get out of it. Blake will probably be trying to give her frightening mental images all night,"

I laughed and she began to walk inside. Taking one deep breath and straightening my elegant but messy bun, I slipped on my red, sequined mask and walked inside with Kai, who wore a long black dress with a flowing, gauzy skirt and a stitch up, sleeveless top.

It was amazing! Black and white streamers hung high all over the place, looking like a giant spider webs. There were roses hanging everywhere, large, blooming, black and white ones; the kind that you've only seen that big in movies. It was also very warm in the patio. I forgot that is was heated! Truly amazing.

Well, for me it was, because I've never been to a ball.

And then suddenly it wasn't.

Because Sonic stood behind the refreshments table, talking to a bunch of girls.

I gasped and turned to walk back outside.

"Amy, stop!"

"Who's that?"

"It's Shelby. You're earrings are communicators, remember? Sonic doesn't know who you are. You're in disguise,"

I took comfort in this and walked back to the party. Heads turned at the brightness of my dress. Mouths drooled, eyes popped, and even Sonic turned to stare at me. A blush crawled up my peaches and cream skin and I kept walking. I passed Blake, Audrey, Rockie, and Pie. They all turned to wave and smile at me. Well, Blake didn't smile. He pretended to be interested in the streamers. I swallowed and gave a slight wave back.

"That's it, Amy. Soak up the attention," Danielle said through my earrings.

"Shut up," I muttered back.

The music started and a stranger asked me to dance. I waltzed so many times with so many boys until my feet began to hurt. But I kept dancing, talking, and laughing. The whole time, I was getting instructions through my earrings.

"Amy, dance with the boy on your right. Your dad's coming."

"Head to the punch bowl; Zelena's on your right.

"Alana in front of you, turn your back!"

I saw The Perfect Threesome + One several times, and they all looked extremely beautiful Alana wore a VERY revealing white dress with black stars covering the bottom. Daphnee wore a short white dress ending three inches above her knees with a gauzy, wrap around top and her multicolored hair in a high ponytail. Irine wore a dress almost identical, except with a one shoulder top and a lot of small ruffles at the edges. And Zelena wore a black – on – white dress with a black bow in her hair.

But out of the attention I was getting, I was the fairest of them all for the night.

And for the first time, I was social.

For the first time, I didn't care about who saw me.

For the first time, I was happy!

Around ten, someone tapped on my shoulder and whispered, "Care to dance with me?" and I turned to see blue quills. My head told me to run. My heart told me to stay. I wanted to do both.

I looked out of the corners of my eyes, begging someone to rescue me. But Audrey was beaming at me while dancing with Blake. Danielle was muttering into her earrings – hers must be communicators too – and Shelby was urging me to do it. I was alone.

"Sure," I said. He doesn't know who you are. You're someone else. Anyone else, I told myself. He took my hand and led me to the dance floor. The DJ played a slow song, to my utter disappointment. Sonic pulled me close, his arms wrapping lightly around my waist.

"What's your name?" he asked.

Think fast, Amy!

To give myself more time to think, I got cocky, "I don't think I can tell you that, Sonic,"

He smirked, resigning to ask how I knew his name, "And why not?"

"Cause you're a stranger," Lie.

"But you know me. Everyone knows me,"

"As the Station Square hero? Yes. Do I personally know you? No." Another lie.

"Well, tell me your name and we can start a personal relationship," he teased.

A dark pink blur caught my eyes. Alana was GLARING at Sonic. She looked ready to shoot ice lasers out of those piercing green eyes.

"Why is Alana Fox glaring at you?" I asked Sonic. His eyes flashed to her for the briefest second and then back to me, "Dunno," he answered.

"They broke up!" Lani yelled excitedly in my ear.

No. Way!

"Ex-girlfriend?" I guessed wisely.

He chuckled and twirled me, "Now how'd you know that?"

"I'm tapped into the gossip," Lie.

"Mmm,"

The song ended, but Sonic didn't let me go. And for some reason, I didn't want him to.

"Can I have another dance?" he asked.

I gave him five, and we talked and laughed through each one. As the fifth song rolled to a close, I felt like I could barely walk.

"Here," he said. Before I could stop him, he picked me up bridal style and was carrying me to a bench out of sight. He sent me down and sat next to me.

"What?" I asked, nervously fingering the ruffling on my dress as I caught him staring at me with supreme curiosity.

"You just . . . you look familiar," he answered.

"Oh really?" I asked, leaning back against the bench.

"Yeah. You sure we've never met before?"

"Yes," Lie.

"I've seen you before though."

"Yes," Half lie/half truth.

"I don't think that's possible," he admitted.

I pondered my answer to that carefully. I turned to him, whispering, "Maybe you looked, but you didn't see,"

I don't think he knew what I was talking about. He didn't get the chance to ask me what I meant. At that moment, someone bumped the bench real hard and I went flying into him, my lips accidently pressing onto his . . .


	13. Chapter 13

We both gasped and pulled away, blushing as red as tomatoes.

"I – I'm s – sorry! Someone b – b – bumped the bench and I . . . I – I'm so sorry!" I stuttered, my heart stopping, waiting for his reaction.

What I didn't expect was for his head to tilt and for him to stare curiously at me again. I looked away, hoping to God he wouldn't recognize me. Then he reached out a gloved hand and traced my lip gently. I gasped slightly, gazing back up to those amazing green eyes. Those gorgeous, beautiful, Emerald green eyes I used to dream about.

No, Amy, no! Don't think about that! You don't love him. You hate him. He's the jerk that never bothered to tell his best friend goodbye! I mind screamed.

I was inches from him when he stretched back and picked a white, blooming rose, and handed it to me, whispering, "If I kissed you now, what would you do?"

Oh. My. God. He couldn't be serious?

Could he?

Don't think about that! You don't love him. You hate him. He's the jerk that never bothered to tell his best friend goodbye!

My breath quickened as I took the rose and sniffed its sweet, intoxicating perfume, "I . . . I don't know,"

His voice dropped a level and his lips were in my ear, "Would you kiss me back?"

No, I wouldn't!

Would I?

You don't love him. You hate him. He's the jerk that never bothered to tell his best friend goodbye!

Lungs taking in the cold air quickly in shallow breaths, I answered, "M – maybe,"

"Do it, Amy, do it!" Rockie squealed through my earrings.

"Come on, you can do it!" Kai agreed.

"Do it!"

"Do it!"

"Kiss him!"

"Do it!"

You hate him. He's the jerk that never bothered to tell his best friend goodbye!

Shut up!

"Guys, cool it!" Lindsey, Sophia, and Audrey yelled.

Silence.

Thank you mind readers!

Sonic tentatively twisted a strand of my long, loose hair around his index finger, smiling, "Why don't we find out?"

He's the jerk that never bothered to tell his best friend goodbye!

And he brought his lips down upon mine.

The world exploded. His lips and arms warmed me against the bitter cold wind. His arms held me close to him. His lips were perfectly sculpted. Absolutely perfect. I kissed him back, exactly the way I imagined I would when I used to fantasize about him. His arms snaked tighter around my waist, bringing me closer to him. I wound my arms around his neck, combing them through his dark blue quills.

"Yes!" Shelby sighed through my earrings.

"What's going on?"

"They kissed!"

"Really? Alright!"

"Go Amy!"

"Someone give me a visual,"

"They're on a bench in a corner by a bunch of rose bushes."

I reached up to my ear and unhooked the earrings, throwing them to the ground. We broke away, breathing heavily.

"Look at that, I did kiss you back," I laughed. He laughed with me, planting kisses along the side of my face.

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Screaming filled my ears. Glass shattered. Tables crashed. Shadows followed the wild running of their owners. The ball tumbled into chaos. Above the scene sat the fat, lazy lard ball Eggman, chuckling as he led a robot army into the patio.

"Stay here," Sonic told me, gently pushing me aside. He ran up to Eggman, jumped, and hit him with such force that it knocked him backwards. Eggman rubbed his face and flew back to the patio, jeering at the blue hero.

"Well, isn't it my old buddy, Sonic The Hedgehog!"

"You ain't no buddy of mine, Fatman!"

"No manners! I see Europe hasn't changed you at all!"

"And I see you haven't joined a gym yet. Gee, Eggman, don't you know obesity can make you die faster," he snickered coldly, "Of course, that'd be a good thing, now that you think about it,"

Eggman's eyes flickered to me. I gasped and shrank further into the rose bushes. Sonic caught Eggman's gaze and in a flash he was standing in front of me in a protective position.

"Who's this, Sonic?" Eggman jeered, "Your new girlfriend?" a metal claw escaped out of a compartment from his hover chair and grasped me around the waist, pulling me into the air. I screamed, struggling to get free.

"Put her down, Eggman!" Sonic ordered.

"What happened to Amy?" Eggman asked, "Did you dump the pink brat before you left?"

"Put. Her. Down." Sonic repeated, anger boiling in every syllable.

"This one's cuter anyway. Have you kissed her yet, Sonic?"

"Let me go!" I cried, struggling to get out of the claws super tight grip. But it only tautened its grip, making me cry out in pain.

And then a blue flash crossed the metal, cutting it in half. I fell to the ground with a hard slam. Sonic jumped down and bent over, pulling the claw apart. I was in his arms again and he raced inside the house, placing me in the kitchen.

"Stay here," he told me again, and then he ran back to the patio. As soon as he left, I ran out of the house and down the street. The party guests ran amok, getting into their cars as quickly as possible and driving away.

"Amy, come on!" Magenna called to me as we climbed into the van. They pulled me into a seat. Shelby stamped on the gas pedal and pealed down the street with a screech.

No one talked while we drove through town. Everyone was still, silent, afraid of the tension. Then Avery leaned over to me and whispered, "I can't believe you kissed Sonic!"

The van broke out into a series of giggles. I smiled and leaned back in my seat, replaying the memory over and over in my head and silently cursing Eggman for ruining it.


	14. Chapter 14

December 13th  
>I did it. I went to the ball and I danced with Sonic and . . . and he kissed me.<p>

Which made me realize that I'm still in love with him.

Fuck.

How is it that one damn boy can cause you so much pain?

And why are boys so stupid?

. - + * + - .

Next afternoon I was laying on my bed, running my hands through my newly cut hair, with memories of last night flooding into my head. Just before I came home, Lindsey took me back to the salon. We spent the twenty bucks Alana gave me to cut my hair to the middle of my chest, wash it until it was pink again, and put red highlights in it. If anyone had any suspicions about my being there, they would be wiped clean.

I closed my eyes and felt Sonic's arms around me . . . his lips on mine . . . again and again. Somehow I can't believe all it took was not seeing me for two years and a change of hair for him to not recognize me. Sonic's sharper than that.

At the foot of my bed lay my scrap book from when I was twelve. I had flipped through the pages, staring at the pictures I took of us and the doodles I made in notebooks. Today I added a few new ones that Lani and Danielle took for me; pictures of Sonic and I, dancing, talking, laughing, kissing.

Someone had barged up the stairs. I hurried to slip the scrap book under a loose floorboard under my bed. I flopped back down as Alana stormed into the room. She walked straight to me, raised a hand, and _TWACK! _A big, pink patch appeared on my cheek and I fell off of my bed. She growled and walked to her side of the room, tearing down every sign of blue quills she could reach and stuffed them into a garbage bag.

I groaned and lifted myself from the floor. Stupid Alana; she always hurt me in some way when she was angry. Dragging myself onto my bed, I saw her sneer at me as she stuffed the last Sonic artifact into the bag, "What are you doing in here anyway?" she growled.

"My bedroom too, ya know," I retorted weakly.

"Whatever," she said. She dropped the trash bag outside the door and settled herself on her bed, taking her phone out and dialing a number.

"Why are you taking all your Sonic stuff down?" I asked.

That triggered a memory.

One night, two years ago, tears fell rapidly down my cheeks as I tore all my pictures off the walls. I knew Sonic wouldn't be coming back. He'd been gone for a year now. My bedroom door clicked open and I wiped the water from my eyes.

"Your turn to feed the chickens," Alana told me, leaning up against the doorframe. She wore overalls and a light blue shirt with her hair in a ponytail.

"Okay," I choked, turning back around. She caught my shoulder and gently twisted my head toward her.

"Amy?" she asked. I sharply took my head back and flopped down on my bed. She took in my now vacant walls, "Why'd you take all your Sonic stuff down?" she asked.

It took me a lot of guts and a while to answer, "I hate him,"

She laughed, "No you don't,"

"Yes I do!"

"No you don't, Amy. You love him,"

I gave up, growling, "So what? He left me!"

She sat on my bed beside me, "What happened?"

"He left," I choked, "Just plain dropped out of Station Square. Didn't say goodbye of anything. He only talks to Tails and its once every month,"

She was silent for a moment, and then said, "He'll be back, and it'll be because of you,"

I sobbed.

"Hey, hey, listen," she whispered, pulling me onto her lap as a new wave of tears captured me, "He WILL come back. He always comes back. Remember when you came back from Earth? He didn't come back for weeks and then suddenly he's there, outside _your _door," she reminded me. The memory had made me sob harder, "He always comes back, Amy. You're his best friend, why wouldn't he come back?"

"Because he'll be dead, or decide he likes Europe better, or he'll find some hot European girlfriend," I cried.

Alana rolled her eyes at my dramatic answer, "Amy," she lifted my chin up so I could look at her, "Think about it. Where is he every time he comes back?"

I thought about it, and the answer was by my side. The more I thought about it, the more she was right. Every time he came back it was because of me.

I smiled up at her, "Thanks, sis," and hugged her.

Of course, that was a different life. A different home. A different me. And certainly a different Alana. Little did I know at the time that Alana was keeping in touch with Sonic. She was sending him letters, text – messages, emails, and calling him 24/7. And after she turned into . . . that . . . she always said he'd come back for her and no one else.

Traitors. Both of them.

"None of your business," she screeched. But of course, she couldn't help talking about herself, so she sighed and said, "I caught him kissing some trampy brunette last night,"

Oh. Shit.

"At the ball?" I asked nervously.

"Yes, he was dancing with her and talking and laughing and then he was making out with her on a bench near midnight,"

I wasn't making out with him! And was it really near midnight? God, now I did feel like Cinderella.

"B-but I thought you two broke up," I hoped she'd take my tone for mild curiosity.

She put her phone down and narrowed her eyes, "Where'd you head that from?"

I gulped, "Rumor 'round school,"

She looked back at her phone and kept dialing, "No, we weren't broken up. But now we are,"

Shit! Shit! Shit!

After a minute she pressed her phone to her ear and rose from her bed. Alana walked out of the room, muttering, "Stupid asshole," as she closed the door.

I leapt for my cell and dialed Shelby's number.

"Hello?" she answered.

"I'm dead!"


	15. Chapter 15

"Okay, so what, you kissed her boyfriend? But deal!" Shelby retorted, staring at me from across the dining table.

"It is a big deal!" I cried, "If Alana finds out that I kissed Sonic, I'll be pushing up daisies!"

The doorbell rang and the door slammed. My little sister, Avery, ran into the kitchen, excitement showing brightly on her face.

"Amy, I've got an awesome idea!" she squealed.

"Hi, nice to see you too Avery," Shelby tittered, sipping a cup of hot chocolate, "You can just let yourself in,"

"Hi, Shelby," she barked, then turned her attention to me, "I have an awesome idea!"

"Well, spit it out," I told her.

"You kissed Sonic last night,"

"And I will pay dearly for it, yes. Go on,"

"And you still love him,"

I growled, "Yes,"

"But you don't want to see him as Amy,"

"Not yet," I sighed, "I can't avoid him for long," then my eyes narrowed, "Where are you going with this?"

From behind her she pulled a circular box. From the box she put a brown wig, with the exact highlights and length as my hair was that night, and a pair of white framed sunglasses.

"No," I stated, "I'm not doing it,"

"Why not?" she whined, "It's a good plan! This was you can still see him without him knowing it's you!"

"I'm never seeing him again as some mystery beauty,"

"Does last night mean nothing to you?"

Actually, it meant everything to me. And then some. But I wasn't about to admit that. I rolled my eyes at her and took a sip of my hot chocolate, "You're hopelessly romantic, you know that?"

She put her hands on her hips and pouted, "Yeah, I get it from my sister,"

"Which one? Alana, Aden, or Abigail?"

"You!"

"I'm nothing of the sort,"

"You are too! Or you used to be, when we were younger. I miss it!"

"What? I was such an annoying kid! Hopelessly and cluelessly romantic with all these stupid fantasies in my head that would never come true,"

Shelby sank in her chair and smirked, mumbling something that sounded like, "One of them did,"

"Better than being such a pessimistic downer," Avery shot back.

"Okay, so you want me to be a twelve year old again?" I stood and set my cup on the table. There was a closet on the other side of the room. I walked to it, pulled out a long white box and opened it. The next minute I turned around with my Piko Piko Hammer in my hands, and evil childish smirk on my face. Avery's eyes widened and she backed away, "Not that part!"

"Oh, so you mean this part?" I set my Hammer down on its mallet part and leaned against the handle, imitating Sonic's voice and mine in a high squeaky sing song voice, "Oh Amy, you're the mist beautiful girl in the world. Oh Sonic! How nice of you to say so! Now I see I've been a fool for ignoring you so long. That's okay, Sonic! You're not a fool to me! Will you marry me, Amy? OF COUSE I WILL, SONIC! AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! MWAH MWAH MWAH MWAH!"

"Yeah, that part!" Avery cried happily, clapping her hands. I huffed and made my hammer disappear. Maybe it was time I started using it again, "Thanks for keeping that for me, by the way," I told Shelby, sitting back down.

"No problem,"

"Final answer," I told Avery, "No,"

She pouted some more, "Fine, but we're waisting a good plan,"

"No, we're preventing a disaster,"

She rolled her eyes this time and shoved the box into my lap, "At least take it, in case you change your mind,"


	16. Chapter 16

December 14th

Today I go back to Mom's. Last time I'll see her, her fiancé Eric, and Avery if I run away with Matt. That kiss with Sonic was a huge mistake. If he ever finds out it was me, and I dare hope he doesn't, it could ruin everything. And right now I feel like the stupid twelve-year-old I used to be. All giddy and happy and wanting him to kiss me again and date me and marry me.

When Sonic came back, I promised I would never fall in love for him ever again. But it isn't working. I see him acting heroic and it melts my heart. I see him with Alana and that green monster flames up. I've been loopy for him again ever since that stupid ball!

The saying is that one bus leaves, another bus comes. But this bus is permanently parked in my heart, no matter how hard I try to push the damn thing out, I'm never strong enough.

Why is love so complicated?

. - + * + - .

I packed my mask from the ball, my dress, the rose Sonic gave me, my scrap book, and the wig from Avery in the loose floorboard before I left. Eric helped me get my suitcase into the car and we drove off. The skyscrapers and honking cars and pollution turned into country roads and mooing cows and manure. Along the way, I sang "Country Roads," by John Denver under my breath.

One thing very few people knew about me: I'm a farm girl. That's why I'm so touch that I can almost bring Eggman down myself. Working in the hot weather, plowing the fields and planting and harvesting can make you strong if you do it long enough.

We drove up the dirt driveway to a small farm house and a big red barn.

"So how was your dad's?" Eric asked.

I sighed as we climbed out of the car, "He's not my dad anymore. I call him Mr. Mayor now because he's nothing like a dad,"

"Did something happen?" he opened the trunk.

"Slapped Alana and snuck out to a friend's house,"

"So the usual?" he laughed.

I laughed with him and pulled my suitcase out, "Yeah, pretty much," I always got along fairly well with Eric. Better than the other men my mom's dated. He was a lawyer. A good one too. We could have been living in a beach house surrounded by piles of money if we wanted to. But my mom couldn't bear to leave the farm. Her mother lived on it as a child before her, and her mother before her, and her grandmother before her, and her great-grandmother before her. And Eric, who loved her so much, decided that he would live on the farm with us. He kept his own house near the beaches for tax reasons and for a summer vacation home. He was learning something new about farming every day, and he was a very quick learner. He was also good with kids. He connected very well with Avery, Aden, Abigail, and I. He treated us every once and a while and gave very fatherly advice and played with us often. I can't remember a single time that he'd yell at me or slap me for doing something wrong or getting in his way. If you ever got in trouble with him, it was a very stern warning. And that was all it took.

He was very helpful too. He helped Mom a lot too, what with a new baby boy on the way and her hardly able to move. He acted like the child was going to be his, even though it wasn't.

Right before Mr. Mayor left us, he knocked up my mom one last time, hoping for a boy. Then he left the day after. He didn't know Mom was having a new kid. A boy, for that matter. And it was going to stay that way. She wasn't letting him take my new baby brother.

I carried my luggage up to my room and had barely begun to unpack when my cell phone rang. Curiosity struck me when I noticed it was the Fox's house phone. Maybe it was Tascha with a new list of chores to do when I'd come back next week. For whatever reason, I answered, "Hello?"

"Amy?" a small whimpering voice sounded.

Harry? What was he calling me for?

"Hi, Harry," I answered.

"When are you coming home?" he sounded like he was crying.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

There was a slight yelp on the other line, and then it cut off. Someone hung up the phone.

I stood there for a moment, stunned. And then I bolted downstairs.

"Mom, I need to borrow your car!" I called. She was in the kitchen, trying to bake a pie over her swelling stomach.

"But you just got here!" she protested.

"Please, Mom?"

She sighed and tossed me a set of keys from a hook on the wall. I caught them in my gloved hand and ran out the door to her station wagon.

"Please let him be okay," I muttered, stuffing the keys into the ignition.

He wasn't okay. He was bruised and cut and bleeding. Got in a fight at school. And Tascha and Mr. Mayor weren't helping. When I walked through the polished oak doors, they were screaming at him.

"I can't believe you got into a fight!" Tascha yelled.

"Maybe you do belong in a prison cell .You lie, you cheat, you steal, and you pick fights! You are a criminal!" Mr. Mayor shouted.

"He only does that to get attention!" I screamed. They turned to face me, their faces red with anger and embarrassment. Harry yelped and ran to me. I picked him up and he wrapped his tiny arms around my neck, whimpering.

"What are you doing here?" he growled.

"I live here," I retorted, reluctant that the answer was true.

"Every other week,"

"I know the rules,"

"So what are you doing here?"

"I left some stuff here," I lied, and then adding quickly, "And Harry and I have plans this afternoon and I was just picking him up,"

"Harry isn't going anywhere," Tascha said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We made these plans before this," I told her, like that made it okay.

"He's not going anywhere," Mr. Mayor said.

"Look, I don't care what you say. He needs a break from this,"

"You take him and I'll call the cops for kidnapping,"

"Do it, but if you do, think about two things. One: I'm family. I'm his step sister and I have the right to be with him and there isn't a restraining order at the moment so I can take him anywhere I want. Two: Do you really want to sink lower than your reputation? If you call the police, I'll tell them how you treat your kids and you could be arrested for child abuse. For both Harry AND me," and with that, I walked upstairs with him in my arms, grabbed a few random things, and walked out of the house. I placed him in the passenger seat and told him, "We're going to my house to fix you up, okay?"

He nodded and clicked his seat belt on.

Mom dropped the finished pie on the ground with a gasp when I brought Harry in. Eric looked up from his paper work and his eyes widened.

"What happened?" she asked.

I picked him up and put him on the kitchen counter, "He got in a fight at school,"

"Isn't he the Fox's son, though?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Shouldn't Jared and Tascha be taking care of him?"

I laughed, "Ha! Good one Mom! Like they'd take care of a kid in need."

She bent down to pick up the pie tin. Eric rushed over and stopped her, "Honey, you shouldn't be moving much," he placed a hand lovingly on her stomach, "Let me take care of the mess,"

She nodded and turned to me and Harry, "Well, let's get you cleaned up now,"

While Eric cleaned up the pie mess, Mom and I covered Harry in medicine, bandages, hugs, kisses, tickles and loves. Harry was actually smiling for the first time, even though he was in pain!"

"So what do you wanna do?" I asked him.

"Nothing too dangerous," Mom and Eric noted. Mom was starting to make a new pie.

"I know, Mom,"

"I . . . is this a farm?" he hesitated, afraid to get the answer wrong.

"Yes, sweetheart," Mom said lovingly.

"Do you have . . . horsies?"

I laughed, "Yeah, we have horses. Do you want to see them?"

He nodded enthusiastically and hopped off of the counter. Taking his hand, we walked outside toward the barn. Avery was already out there, brushing the horses.

"Wow!" Harry gasped.

Avery looked down and smiled at him, "Hi, Harry,"

"He wanted to see the horses," I admitted.

"Did he?" Avery smiled. My little sister knelt down to Harry's level, "Do you like horses, Harry?" she asked and he nodded, "Would you like to brush them?"

He looked like there was nothing more fun in the world. We led him over to the one Avery was brushing, a Tennessee Walking horse called Todd, and showed him how to use the brush. Avery held his hand over the brush and guided it over the horse's shining coat until he could do it by himself. After he'd brushed Todd and the other horse, a Arabian stallion named Lauren, he asked what else there was to do on a farm. Avery went to the house as I gave him a tour of the farm and greenhouses. He laughed as he saw the pigs roll in puddles of mud and threw small balls of mud at them in places they couldn't reach. He petted the sheep and fed the horses. He helped me milk the cows. I led him to the green house and showed him all the different kinds of plants we grew, and he tasted most of the fruits and vegetables that were ripe.

"How about we feed the chickens?" I told him, "Come over here," I led him back into the barn and over into the chicken coop, where dozens of chickens ran free and wild. Harry laughed at their silly behavior.

I motioned for him to come to the large barrel of chicken feed, "All you have to do is take a handful and throw it out to them,"

Harry picked up a hearty handful of seeds and scooted to the edge of the coop, where the chickens waited hungrily. He threw the seeds to the ground and ran, hiding behind my leg. The birds scrambled to get the most food and Harry laughed again.

Avery's head popped through the door, "Mom's got dinner ready,"

"Are you hungry?" I asked him. He nodded and we made our way back to the house. On the dinner table lay four heaping plates of grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, fresh strawberries, macaroni and cheese, and milk straight from the cows.

"My favorite!" Harry cried happily as he picked a spot next to Eric and began to devour his sandwich.

"There's more sandwiches on the counter if you're still hungry," Mom said, ruffling his hair.

Harry seemed to talk more in that day than the entire seven months that I'd met him. He talked to Eric about the horses and the chickens and pigs and cows and sheep and what he did that day. Eric listened happily and told him about the experiences he had with our animals when he first came to live here.

"When I tried to feed the chickens as Mary told me to, several of them bit my hand!" he laughed and showed Harry his peck scars.

Harry held out his hand to show that he was scar free, "They didn't bite me!" he announced, seeming to think that this was a huge victory for him.

Around eight or nine, Harry laid his fork and spoon neatly on his clean plate and yawned.

"Come on," I sighed, picking him up, "Let's get you home,"


	17. Chapter 17

They did call the cops. I was three blocks down when I saw the flashing red and blue lights.

"Shit!" I hissed. Quickly, I drove up an anonymous driveway. Took my cell out, and dialed Lindsey and Shelby's number. Shelby was first to answer.

"What's up?" she asked.

Lindsey was next to answer.

"Hold on, let me put you on three way," I told them, fiddling with my phone. Then I told them the dilemma.

"Fuck, Amy!" Lindsey almost yelled.

"Don't give me crap, Lindsey," I threatened.

"Well, we can't go over and help. Mr. and Mrs. Fox know us. They'll know what's going on," Shelby decided.

"Wait a minute! What about Team Strange?" Lindsey shrieked excitedly.

"Team what?" I asked.

"Team Strange. Audray's team. Their job is to help people in need and fight against evil,"

"The evil part: me being in jail. People in need part: getting Harry home,"

She gave me Audray's number and I dialed it.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Audray, it's Amy. I need your help,"

"Give us a few minutes to think of something,"

"Wait a minute, I didn't tell you – "

"You're trying to get your step brother back home and there's cops surrounding the house,"

I paused, and then asked, "Can you read minds through a cell phone?"

"No, I'm watching the news," she said, and I heard laughter on the other side.

I rolled my eyes, blushing, "Ha ha, funny,"

"We'll be over in a second,"

I crouched down in my seat. Harry was fast asleep in the passenger seat. Moments later, I heard the policemen yell. Looking up, I faintly saw a little black fox and a pink hedgehog running away from the house. The police hopped in their cars and drove off, taking their flashing lights with them.

A knock on my window made me jump. Rianna knocked on the door again and I rolled it down,"

"Hurry! Sonic's out there and we can't be seen,"

Of course Sonic would be here.

Pulling Harry out of his seat, still asleep, I closed the car door quietly and ran out behind the houses with Rianna. The rest of Team Strange was hidden behind Mr. Mayor's house with a projector, laughing silently.

"Cops are so stupid!" Pie whispered.

"What's that?" I asked.

"A hologram," Kenya informed me, fiddling with the controls, "We made a projection of you and the kid running to lead the police away,"

"We'll get Harry through the window," Audray told me, "Pie, Rianna, Kenya, Blake, get in Blake's car and lead the cops away," they nodded and ran off through the bushes with the projector, leaving me, Harry, Audray, Rockie, and Sophia.

"Sonic, just talk to me!"

It was Alana's voice. Coming from the front of the house. My ears perked up, straining to listen to the rest of the conversation.

"What exactly is there to talk about, Alana? You've told me how you felt and what you're going to do to me if I don't agree, and really I don't care,"

"What about all we've been through together?"

"You mean making out at movie theaters? Yeah, that's a lot,"

"So you're dumping me for some trampy faker?"

Sonic was dumping Alana? But I thought they'd already broken up!

"No, I'm not,"

"So you're not dumping me?" she sounded hopeful.

"I know what game you're playing, Alana. Trying to be the girlfriend of the hottest guy in school? The coolest guy in school? I know I'm not and I'm cool, but bitches aren't my type. For your sake, you should stick with football players,"

I slapped my hand over my mouth to stifle a cackle. Go Sonic!

Alana screamed. A car door slammed. And we saw her pink mustang bolt in the opposite direction.

"Come on," Rockie whispered, "We better get him to bed,"

"Amy?"

We all tensed up. I gulped and pressed myself against the side of the house, holding Harry close to my chest.

"I know you're here, Amy," his deep voice called, "I know you didn't run off with Harry like the cops thought,"

Damnit!

Rockie looked up at Harry's two story window and narrowed her eyes. It suddenly shot open.

"And I know you just heard the fight I had with Alana,"

Double damnit!"

_ 'Rockie has telekinesis,' _Audray sent me a mind message. I nodded silently.

_ 'Amy, give Harry to Rockie,' _Sophia instructed through another mind message. I handed the sleeping boy over. A sudden blast of wind flew upward, lifting Rockie off of the ground and too the ledge of the window. She slipped through.

"Come out, Amy. I won't hurt you,"

That's not what I was afraid of.

"I won't turn you in either,"

Rockie slid out of the room and jumped silently to the snow covered ground, succeeding the mission. Audray and Rockie headed back through the bushes while Sophia helped me back to my car.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket as I said goodbye to the fox. It was Matt.

"So how about it?" he asked, "You wanna go to Hawaii to me?"

"Still thinking about it," I told him, "When is it again?"

"Wednesday. And remember, you gotta get ten grand to go,"

"I'll remember,"

"Love you, babe,"

"Love you too,"

But I didn't mean it.


	18. Chapter 18

December 15th

Hiding from the cops. I'm riding the bus to school instead of Mom's car or my skateboard. And I'm still avoiding Sonic as much as possible, maybe even more so.

Harry called me this morning. He said he didn't get in any trouble. His parents didn't talk to him all day, pretty much ignored him. He wants me to visit him tomorrow. I said yes, of course. Anything to get him out of that hell hole.

. - + * + - .

Cream caught up with me after third hour.

"Haven't seen much of you," she told me, pouting, "No one's seen much of you, actually,"

Truth was that I was also avoiding the Sonic Team as much as possible too. Hanging out with them was just too painful because it reminded me that we were one member short.

"Sonic's been asking for you, too," she said as we approached my locker.

My heart leapt out of my chest, "Does he?"

"Yeah," she answered, "I think he was expecting you to start crying him, hug him to death, and try to kiss him as soon as he got off the boat."

I laughed bitterly, "Guess I'm way under his expectations, aren't I?"

"I think it's time you saw him,"

"No, I don't think that's a good idea,"

"Why not?"

"Think about it, Cream: I haven't seen Sonic in two years."

"None of us have,"

"And I finally just got off of him. What's gonna happen when I see him again?"

"I don't know," she said after a while, "But I think it's time to find out."

Was it? Was it time to see Sonic without a wig or a mask?

"So," Cream began again, "Avril Lavigne is having a concert tomorrow night in the park. Sonic's opening for her. You wanna come?"

"He's still singing?" I asked, closing my locker and leaning up against it, remembering reluctantly of how he used to come over with his guitar. We used to sit in my bedroom and he's play a new song he'd come up with, asking for my approval.

"Uh huh," Cream answered, "So will you come? It's only going to be the team,"

I hesitated before whispering, "Yes,"

"What?" she asked.

I cleared my throat, "Yes, I'll . . . I'll come,"

"Good girl!" she cried happily, giving me a hug, "Lindsey and I will pick you up at seven!" she blew me a kiss and ran off.

Lunch time rolled around. I headed toward Matt's car with my lunch in hand when Audray called my name. She ran to my side, a notebook and pencil pressed to her side, a smile on her face.

"Hey!" she greeted, panting.

"You stalking me or something?" I joked.

She laughed, "Nah, I'm not the type. Actually, my team goes to school here now,"

"How'd that happen?"

"We were relocated," she shrugged, "Um . . . anyway, I . . . uh . . . has anyone told you I'm, um, a writer?"

"Nope. You any good?"

"I think so. Anyway, what's going on right now, with you and Sonic and Alana? The whole ball and everything? I think it'd be a good story to tell,"

"And you wanna write about it?" I guessed.

She blushed, "Can I?"

"Sure," I smiled slightly, "But if you publish it, I get a third of the profit,"

"Deal!" she laughed, "Can we go to the library?"

I agreed. We walked through the hallways, and as we walked, a dark pink hedgehog and three black foxes came into view, whispering and giggling behind their hands. When they saw me, Alana straightened up, sneered at me, and walked off with The Perfect Threesome at her heals.

"Amy?" Audray whispered.

"Yes?"

"Don't go to Harry's house tomorrow,"

"Why?"

"Just . . . just don't go. And don't go to the concert either,"

I stared at her curiously and shrugged. We entered the library and found an empty table. Audray opened her notebook while I took a bite of my sandwich.

"So when did all this drama start?" she asked.

"You mean when Sonic came back?"

"Yeah,"

"Well . . . hmm . . . I guess when he came back Eric had just dropped me off at Mr. Mayor's house . . ."


	19. Chapter 19

December 16th

Is it true that there's nothing in this world that can't be healed with love? If so, someone show me how that works, because it seems that with one more word of hate, these cracks in my heart will turn me into one big pile of pieces.

One more thing. One more thing and I'm gone.

. - + * + - .

Right after school I took a bus that would drop me off close to Mr. Mayor's house. The wind was blowing harder than ever, adding to the cold of winter's day. I looked sadly at the dead trees, wishing it was spring again, so they could be alive with greenery. Children ran through the streets, dressing in warm jackets, hats, and scarves, throwing snowballs at one another and making snow angels after a long days work.

I stuffed my hands into my jean pockets and ran up the stone steps to the big oak door. Mr. Mayor answered with a surprised look.

"May I see Harry?" I asked politely, gritting my teeth.

He didn't answer.

"May I see Harry please?" I repeated.

It took him a while, but he replied, "He's not here,"

I stood there, staring at him in disbelief, the worst-case scenario taking over my mind, "Well where is he?"

"Amy, I think you should go," he tried to close the door on me. I struck my foot between the gap and pushed it open. Barging upstairs while he called after he, I ran to his room.

Harry wasn't there.

I checked Mr. Mayor and Tashca's room.

Not there.

Zelena's room.

Nothing.

Irine's room.

Daphnee's room.

The living room.

The bathrooms.

The kitchen.

The hallways.

The closets.

He was nowhere.

He didn't live here anymore.

My search ended in our bedroom, Alana's and mine. Alana wasn't there. I looked in the bathroom, the closet, and under the beds. I crawled under my bed, moving things aside, until I . . .

. . . oh no . . .

. . . oh my God . . .

The loose floorboard under my bed had been moved. All the things in it were gone.

Someone grabbed my leg and pulled me out from under the small space.

"Amy, you need to go,"

Mr. Mayor dragged me down the stairs and pushed me out the door, but not without me getting in a good punch. I stood there on the door step, panic rising in my heart.

"HARRY!" I screamed, cupping my hands around my mouth. No one answered.

The gravel slid under my feet as I ran. Like I was running for my life. But it wasn't my life I was running for. It was Harry's.

"HARRY!" I screamed again, panting. In a whisper, I cried, "Oh Harry, where are you?"

Cream and Lindsey rolled up around seven in Cream's white S.U.V. I heard the honk of the horn, but didn't acknowledge it. I was numb, cold, distant to everything around me.

They got rid of Harry. He could be anywhere. On the streets. In an orphanage.

Alana knew I was at the ball. She had all my things. She could strike at any minute.

"Amy, your friends are here!" Eric called from the bottom of the stairs.

I didn't answer. My Jade green eyes stared down at my beloved Piko Piko Hammer. The one I hadn't used in so long. I took in its gleaming yellow handel, the red and yellow mallet, the surprisingly lightness of the tool itself. I closed my eyes and sighed as it vanished into thin air.

Eric gently pushed me through the door with a smile when I came downstairs, promising he would try and find Harry while I was gone.

"You look fabulous!" Cream cried as I crawled into the back seat. I wore a red tank top ending above my ribs, a white mid-thigh skirt, my red and white boots, and my hair cured into a high ponytail.

"Thanks," I muttered, buckling myself in.

"It's a good thing they relocated the concert to the stadium. It's way too cold to do it at the park," Cream noted.

Lindsey groaned from the passenger seat, "Can't this hunk of junk go any faster? I could've been there by now!"

"Oh shut up Lindsey,"

We arrived at the indoor stadium at 7:30. Cream locked the doors and lead us back stage. While we walked, Lindsey pulled me back and whispered in my ear, "She's not here,"

"Who?"

"Alana and her crew. I can't hear them anywhere,"

Thank God for mind readers.

"Just relax, okay? You're fine."

I nodded and took a deep breath. We were at the back stage door, which Cream had opened. Knuckles stood by his drums, twirling his drumsticks around his fingers. Tails sat on a stereo, tuning up his guitar, "Hey girls," he called without looking up.

"Look who we brought!" Lindsey announced.

They both looked up and their jaws dropped to the floor, "Amy!" they cried. They put down their instruments and ran to give me a hug. I hugged them each back, smiling slightly, "Hey, guys," I muttered.

"Okay, so she gets a hug," Lindsey sounded, "Where's mine?"

"And mine?" Cream asked.

Both boys smiled and went to hug them. Tails planted a kiss on Cream's cheek and she giggled. Knuckles held onto her a bit longer than he should have, and Lindsey began to blush like crazy, silently cursing herself.

And then my eyes caught someone else's.

Someone's Emerald green eyes.

Sonic.

"Amy?" he whispered, like he couldn't belief it was me. His eyes traveled over me, taking in every inch of my body.

I blushed, squirming under his pleasant attention, and whispered, "Hi, Sonic,"

His mouth broke into a smile after he got over his shock, "Hey, Ame's. You been avoiding me?"

I cringed inwardly at my nickname, "Maybe," I laughed.

He looked me over again, and then his face fell slightly, "You've changed,"

Growling silently, I muttered, "It's been two years since you've seen me, Sonic. Of course I've changed,"

He blushed slightly (!) and muttered, "Right,"

Sonic was blushing?

"You've changed too,"

"Oh hey, Sonic! Glad you're here!" a cold voice sneered.


	20. Chapter 20

Alana and The Perfect Threesome walked through the back door, along with half of the cheerleading team. In Alana's hand was my red, sequined mask. I gasped and tried to run for it, but Daphnee and Zelena grabbed my arms and forced them behind my back. The Sonic Team ran to my aid, but each were held back by two girls.

"Don't listen to her, Sonic! She's – " Lindsey scream until someone slapped a hand over her mouth.

Sonic tried to help, but Alana pushed him back. "Let her go, Alana," Sonic growled.

"Oh, but don't you want to know who your mystery beauty is?"

He peered suspiciously at her, "What do you mean?"

"Look at her, Sonic," Alana motioned toward me, "Don't you recognize the Jade green eyes, the pink fur, the cream skin?"

He considered me for a minute, and then he started to laugh, "Alana, are you telling me that Amy is . . . is . . ."

"Your Cinderella? Yes, I am. And she is,"

"No, she isn't," he laughed harder.

I gritted my teeth, anger pulsing through my bones. What, I couldn't be a Cinderella, Sonic?

"Maybe you need a better visual," she snapped her fingers and Irine walked up to her . . .

. . . carrying my dress and wig.

I struggled as much as I could against their grip, but it was iron hard. Alana jammed the wig onto my head and snapped on the mask. She gathered the fake brown hair in her hand to make it look somewhat like an elegant bun. She and Irine held the red ruffled dress up in front of me.

Sonic's eyes recognized me. His mouth dropped open as he studied me. I kept my eyes down, a strong blush growing on my skin. The cheerleaders laughed at me in pity.

"She's still as obsessed with you as ever," Alana muttered to the crowd, "How pathetic,"

That did it. I was done.

There was a scream, a crash, a cackle. I looked up. Eggman flew high overhead, laughing, "Well, look at this! Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, Lindsey . . . and even Amy is here. The entire Sonic Team. Good. That means I won't have to look all over to kill you. I've got you all right here!"

For the first time, I was glad Eggman was here.

A metal claw grasped me around the waist, pulling me out of the hands of Daphnee and Zelena.

Why was it always me?

But I wasn't in the mood for his antics. Whipping out my Piko Piko Hammer, I struck him hard in the face. The metal claw dropped me and Eggman fell back, grunting in pain. I bolted for the door.

No one ran after me. No one called after me.

I ran. Faster and faster. Farther and farther.

And for the first time in seven months, a tear slipped down my cheek.

My mind was made up.

I was leaving.


	21. Chapter 21

December 17th

What did I get myself into?

. - + * + - .

Matt and I were in the boarding area at three the next morning. He seemed very eager to get out of Station Square as fast as he could.

"Matt, I need to go the bathroom,"

"Okay, but hurry up!" he barked.

"Relax, we've got an hour until the plane leaves," I explained.

"Just hurry up,"

I rolled my eyes, running out of the waiting area to the nearest bathroom. It was completely empty. Locking myself in a light blue stall, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Avery's number.

"Amy?" she moaned groggily, "Where are you?"

"At the airport,"

She was wide awake now, "What the hell are you doing in the airport?"

"I'm leaving to Hawaii with Matt,"

"Why?"

A fresh wave of tears flooded me, "I – I can't be in Station S-Square anymore. It h-h-hurts too much,"

"Amy – "

"I need someone to know in case something happens," and I slapped my phone shut. Tears streaming down my face, I unlocked the stall and walked slowly back to the boarding area. Matt's face softened when he saw me. He took me into his arms, rubbing my back gently. I sobbed into his chest. He pressed his lips to my forehead, whispering "It's okay, babe. It's okay,"

The plane landed in San Francisco around nine at night. We took a cab to the docks. I stared out the window, watching the blurry city lights and blaring car horns. It was raining now. Hard. It pounded on the glass, pit-pat, pit-pat.

At 9:30 we arrived at the dock. It was dark outside, and there were only a few boats, not including ours. The old worn floorboards with wet with ocean and rain water, and ropes and trash littered the ground. Sailors called out to each other instructions, beginning to cast off. Matt lugged our suitcases into a small waiting area while I stayed outside in the rain. Shivering, I pulled my coat closer to me. Alana's words rang in my ears. _How pathetic. How pathetic. How pathetic _

Matt was at the door of the waiting area, a really small building with only a bathroom, calling, "Come on, Ame's, you'll catch a cold out there,"

Ame's. That's what Sonic called me. I shivered again and walked to him. The waiting room was painted white, with one long bench along each wall and a few small plants here and there. It was completely empty. Matt took my hand and sat down on a bench, with me on his lap. He whispered words of encouragement and love in my ears while stroking my damp hair and back.

"It'll get better," he whispered, "I promise,"

I was numb. Unresponsive. Cold and betrayed. Abused. I needed him. Needed Matt to hold me and love me. Needed him to make me forget.

He kissed me. His tongue, tasting of smoke, slid into my tongue and played with mine. I concentrated on trying not to choke or puke and pulled him closer to me, combing my fingers through his brown quills. I felt his hands edge to the hem of my shirt and before I knew it, he was under there, his fingers lifting my bare breasts and playing with my nipples. I pushed him away, "No,"

He pushed back, now pressing me into the wall, "Come on Amy, we've been together for how long? A month perhaps? I've given you everything I have, all my love, and I need something in return." His hand glided up the back of my shirt and began to unclip my bra.

"Matt, I said no!" I pulled his hand out and tried to get a hold of my hammer. He only pressed closer and closer. With a struggle, he managed to get my bra off and it fell to the floor. He kicked it away and slipped off my belt in a mere two seconds.

"Get off!" I screamed. My gloved hand finally clasped around my Piko Piko Hammer. The mallet collided with his face. Matt slammed into the wall with a loud thud. And then he was in front of me, his face red with anger, a purple bruise blooming on his right cheek. His eyes were burning holes in his angry features. I jeered and swung the hammer at him again.

He caught it. A sudden fire lit in his hand, burning my weapon to ashes. I didn't even know he could do that! My breath caught in my throat. My eyes widened in shock and fear.

I ran.

It was almost too dark to see outside now. There weren't any boats in the docks. No more sailors. No one to help me. I ran. Ran for my life.

He was in front of me in a flash. Matt grabbed my in an iron tight grip and pushed me to the floor. I let out an ear - piercing scream!

"Shut up, you stupid bitch!" he slapped me across the face hard. He proceeded with the abuse, sending pain throughout every aching bone in my body. A series of kicks to the spine. A punch in the stomach. A slap to the face.

"Get up," he muttered, gently touching my back with his foot, which was covered in bruises. I whimpered, and my naked body distinctively curled up into a ball.

"I said get up!" he yelled, kicking harder now.

I braced myself for another kick, one that would hopefully knock me out.

And then a blue streak of light flashed across us. A growl. A shout. A scream. I tried to open my eyes against the blood streaming down my head. I lay there, soaked in blood and tears, losing consciousness by trying to fight against it.

"Zack!" Someone shouted.

Sonic. It was Sonic's voice. But who was Zack? I forced my eyes open with a great difficulty, somehow able to see what was going on through the black and red. He stood a few feet away, his face contorted with utter rage. In front of him was Matt, a victorious smirk on his face.

And then he changed. His image wavered and melted in places, tied up and embroidered in others until he wasn't Matt anymore. A black hedgehog with piecing yellow eyes took his place, with dark purple streaks lining his short, skater style quills.

Zack Daggers.


	22. Chapter 22

Zack put his hands together and clapped loudly, "Well done, Sonic, well done. You found me,"

"What do you want with Amy?" Sonic growled. From here, even with my eyes barely squinting, I could see Sonic's fur getting darker and darker. He was going to turn into Dark Sonic.

Zack smirked, "I knew this little trinket was your weakness," he motioned his chin toward me, "I heard you on the phone, always asking about her, whether she was okay and if she hated you or not. So I made a game out of her. What do I want with her? Nothing but fun."

Sonic growled and he smirked back. But it wasn't his smirk. It was an evil, deranged one, "You're not going to get away with that." He pointed his thumb back toward me, "I'm going to kill you for that!"

"Are you, Sonic?" the black hedgehog sneered, "Are you going to kill me over a little hood ordainment? You don't care about her. You never did. She's just your little accessory, isn't she Sonic? You just help her because it makes you look like you help the poor,"

Sonic let out a cold, merciless laugh, "You don't know what helping the poor is, Daggers,"

"So you admit it then?" Zack yelled, "You admit she's nothing more than fan girl to you!"

"Did I say that? No, I didn't! And Amy is nothing of the sort," Sonic growled.

Zack just rolled his eyes and shrugged, "Well, I was hoping to get much farther than this. I was going to offer you a ransom for her, and then kill her as soon as we got to the island. But playing with the emotions of a seventeen year old girl is just too much fun," his eyes flickered toward me and my trashed up body, chucking darkly, "Of course, that rockin' bod is just a bonus too,"

Sonic lunged. He'd had enough. His eyes had gone from their shining Emerald green to dark, dangerous black, matching the color of his fur now. He hit Zack. Zack growled and conjured a ball of fire in his hand and threw a series of them at his opponent. Sonic dodged them easily and aimed a kick at Zack's stomach.

I had to get out of there. With so much pain, I pushed myself onto my hands and knees and wobbled in a blind path to find shelter. Zack caught me, and suddenly he was there, a knife to my throat.

"No you don't, sweetheart," he scoffed in my ear, "I still need you,"

And then I fell to the ground with a loud thud. Sonic had him pinned to the ground, the knife now in his hand, pointed at Zack's heart. Zack chuckled and he suddenly disappeared. Sonic stood, looking for the criminal, until he fell to the ground with a loud shriek. The black hedgehog stood with a victorious smirk, a shard of glass covered in blood in his hand. He dropped the glass and grasped my arm tightly.

"Get up, precious, we're leaving," he muttered.

"No!" I groaned, trying to pull away. I was floating between the land of living and the dead. My mind and heart were slowing down. My vision was clouding with black ghosts, ready to take me away. I gasped for air and tried to fight against the nagging feeling to die and him.

Sonic came to my rescue; he tackled Zack to the floor. My arm was released. I curled into a tight ball again, afraid of the outer world and what it could do to me. Even though it was still raining, it didn't wash away the blood constantly pouring from my body. I was losing consciousness every second.

Sonic was at my side now. His fur and eye color had returned to normal. He leaned over me with a concerned look, "Amy, are you okay? God, of course you're not okay, you're almost dead,"

I was lifted off the ground and into wet but warm, tan arms. My vision slid in and out of focus.

"Sleep, Amy. You need to sleep," he voice whispered.

"No," I groaned, "If I . . . close my eyes . . . then I might not . . . open them again,"

"Sleep," he told me again.

The blackness was taking over me. I stared around the area as Sonic began to run. The last thing I saw was Zack Daggers dead, bloodied body.

Moments later I opened my Jade green eyes. Sonic brought me into an unknown house. We passed through hallways and rooms, the lights turning on every step of the way. The last room was the kitchen. Sonic lifted me onto the marble counter.

"Where am I?" I asked woozily.

"My beach house in California," he answered, his voice unusually shaky and harsh. He pulled out a box of medicine and bandages from a cabinet and slammed them on the counter.

"Sonic?" I whispered.

He didn't answer. Sonic tore through the box and pulled out some gauze and a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

"How did you know where I was?" I croaked.

"Avery," he answered simply.

"How did you know Matt was Zack?:

"I saw him change," he growled, "I came to check on you last night at your dad's house and that . . . that . . . he was slipping out of your bedroom window as Zack and changed his appearance to your boyfriend when he landed on the ground,"

"Sonic?"

He gripped my arm tightly and scrubbed at the cuts with a wash cloth harshly, making me wince to the added pain.

"Ow, Sonic?" I cried, trying to pull my arm away.

"What?" he screamed, letting go of me.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" he yelled, dropping the wash cloth on the counter, "What's wrong is you left without telling me!"

Excuse me?

Now it was my turn to get angry, "You're the one who left Station Square without telling me! Without telling anyone! For two years! And you didn't even say goodbye!"

"I had to – "

"Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, you had to go save the world again, just like always! And I had to leave too,"

"Why?"

"Because of you!"

Silence. Utter silence. I slumped against the wall, panting from screaming, cringing at my words, wincing at the pain. After a while Sonic took up the wash cloth again and cleaned the cuts on my arms again.

"I am . . . I am the girl . . . at Alana's ball," I choked, waiting for his reaction. There wasn't one, so I went on, "And then I was trying to avoid you and avoid Alana and take care of Harry. And my dad got rid of Harry and then Alana humiliated me and . . . and . . . oh Sonic, I couldn't take it anymore!" tears slipped down my cheeks, "I had to leave. I couldn't stay there. I can't stay there,"

Sonic was silent as he wiped the cloth over my calves. He took up the gauze and carefully wrapped liberal amounts of it around the cuts and bruises.

"Why were you avoiding me?" he suddenly asked.

It took me a while, but I replied, "I finally got over you when you came back. And I wasn't ready to see you yet and I knew you wanted to see me and you weren't going to give up. I had to avoid you until I was ready, until I knew I wasn't going to fall head-over-heels for you again,"

I sighed and ran a hand through my wet quills, weeping more strongly, "But it doesn't matter. It didn't work. I fell in love with you again, just like I did when I was twelve. And I'm going to be chasing you and you're going to be running away from me and no matter how many times I ask if you love me you'll always say – "

He kissed me. He was kissing me! I kissed him back, completely surprised. We pulled apart, shocked at our actions, breathing heavily. He suddenly smiled, and my sadness and anger toward him lifted with that smile. He raised his hand to my cheek, caressing it gently.

"Yes," he whispered.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Yes, I love you,"

I stared at him, completely and utterly bewildered, "Did you hit your head on something or is the world upside down today?"

He chuckled and held my free hand in his, "No, everything is where it should be. I do love you, Amy. I just haven't been able to tell you yet," he paused, thinking, "And about the saying goodbye thing? How many times have I left without saying goodbye?"

"A lot," I answered.

"Right. And how many times did I come back?"

"All of them,"

He sighed and stroked the back of my hand with his thumb, "I only left without saying goodbye because I was promising that I'd be back. Say goodbye and that might be the last time you'd see me,"

My heart leapt and I stared at him, dumbfounded. How the hell did a perfect guy like this land in my arms?

I asked myself that question every single day I'd loved him. And I never got an answer. Guess I was just lucky.

I giggled and kissed him again. And I couldn't stop giggling and kissing him for a long time. We kissed and kissed. We kissed all night. Soon after sleep crept up on me, and I fell asleep in my lovers arms.

The next morning I awoke in a soft, warm bed. California sunlight spilled through the white curtains, lighting up the dark blue room and all of its beautiful guest room-ness. Shielding my eyes, I removed the sheets from my body. It was covered in gauze and I wore a pair of my own underwear and my bra (from which he had salvaged at the dock last night) and a blue and white striped, long sleeved, button down shirt. How did they get there, though?

"Sonic must have put them on me," I whispered, blushing.

The strumming of a guitar led me downstairs. Sonic's old black acoustic instrument was on his lap, his fingers plucking at the strings. He looked up as I descended the final step.

"How'd you sleep?" he asked with a smile.

I smiled back, "Good, you?"

"Good,"

I sat next to him on the blue sofa, listening to my blue hero play cords to a song I'd never heard before, "New song?"

He smiled at me lovingly, "Your song,"

"You wrote me a song?"

"While I was away. I couldn't stop thinking about you. Couldn't wait to see you again. Had to get it out somehow,"

I scooted closer to him, "May I hear it?"

His smirk grew and he strummed a more complex rhythm, adding on the lyrics.

_ "What kind of spell is this  
>That you've cast on me with your kiss<br>It's like I've lost all control of my senses  
>It's just not like me, to give in so easily<br>And dropping my thought and I'm leaving my heart defenseless  
>Oh, but I'm feelin' good here beneath the pines of the Georgia woods<em>

_"And what a surprise, here by my side  
>It's more than a full moonshine and it's driving me crazy<br>I waited so long, something is strong  
>And now I gotta be fallin' cause I'm already callin' you baby<em>

_"There's nobody here to see  
>The sparks between you and me<br>We better be careful my love or these woods will be burning_

_"Or maybe we just give in, throw caution to the wind  
>It's funny how we ain't got any say in the matter<em>

_"And what a surprise, hear by my side  
>It's more than a full moonshine and it's driving me crazy<br>I waited so long, something is strong  
>And I gotta be fallin cause I'm already callin you ba – " <em>

I pressed my lips onto his, silencing his amazing song. He chuckled and kissed me back.

"Aren't you gonna let me finish the song?" he questioned in a flirting tone. I smirked and stole his guitar, placing it next to the couch. Sliding onto his lap, with his legs between mine, I whispered, "No," and kissed him again.

. - + * + - . . - + * + - . . - + * + - .

NOTE: The song above is "Georgia Woods' © Keith Urban


	23. Chapter 23

April 22nd

I guess there are such things as happy endings!

Sonic took me back to Station Square after a week of recovery, where my friends and family waited with open arms. And I was grounded for a month.

Eric and Sonic both found Harry, in an orphanage somewhere in Wisconsin. And we adopted him! I now have a little brother!

Well, I have two actually. The baby was born two months ago, and he's a boy. We named him Anthony.

We got Mr. Mayor fired and in jail. Turned out that Zack put up a bunch of small cameras in our house to watch my every move (kind of creepy) and they caught all of his abusive ways. He is now in jail for about five years and no longer the ruler of our fair city.

Tascha was fired from her fashion capitol job as well. Alana and The Perfect Threesome don't walk around like they own the world anymore. They now walk around like they're the best thing in our school . . . in Goodwill clothes.

As for Sonic and I, we're still together and I went back to the Sonic team. I don't hang out much with Kai, Shelby, Lani, Magenna, and Danielle anymore. But that's okay. They said they were trying to get me back with the team all along. And Team Strange? Still as strange as ever, but now their battling crime in Station Square.

So far, life is good again!

. - + * + - .

Audray and I stared at the gleaming hard back cover of her book. The very first "A Maid Named Amy" to be published.

"And you've already sold ten thousand copies of this?" I asked.

"Yeah! Only been out for a week and it's getting to be an international hit."

A pair of arms suddenly wrapped themselves around my, pulling me to a warm, blue body. Audray rolled her eyes and muttered, "See you later," standing up, she walked away. She preferred not to be around lovey dovey people.

I smiled and turned to Sonic, pressing my lips against his with a slight moan. We pulled away, both slightly pink in the face.

"I finally get my prince," I mumbled. He chuckled.

The wedding bells began to ring outside the church. The guests took their seats outside in the spring sun and the musicians began to play. Harry, dressing in a small, white tuxedo, gently took baby Anthony in his arms and paced himself down the white carpeted aisle. Aden and Abigail were next. Dressed in fluttery silk gowns whiter than snow, they spread out pink rose petals along the path. My uncle Marshal, mom's brother, walked down the aisle. My new aunt, Aunt Jacie, walked down next. Eric, or as I now call him Dad, best friend and best man strut down next and stood beside Eric and the priest.

Then it was my turn. Smoothing out the skirt of my dress and rearranging my bouquet of flowers, I stepped in time to the wedding march down the aisle toward a large oak tree, where they stood. I took my place beside Aden and looked toward the beginning of the aisle. The march slowed down and the bride, my mother, stepped along the path, accompanied by my grandfather, with a pure and happy smile on her lips.

The vows were simple but sweet. The golden rings were exchanged. And finally, the priest said to Eric, "You may now kiss the bride,"

And he did.

The crowd stood and burst with applause. The reception proceeded next, and most of the guests ran to the next room to get the first of the wedding cake. Sonic and I were the last to leave.

"Come on," he said, giving me his arm, "I want to congratulate you mom,"

I walked down the carpeted gangway with Sonic by my side. But suddenly I tripped and my white pump went flying.

"I got it," he said. In a flash, he hand my shoe in his hands. With a smile, he asked, "May I?"

I giggled and lifted my skirt to reveal my bare limb. Sonic bent down to one knee and carefully slipped the high heel onto my tiny pink foot.


End file.
